0 


3"- 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/historyofdisciplOOwilc_0 


HIRAM    COLLEGE,    HIRAM,  OHIO 


A  History  of  the  Disciples 
of  Christ  in  Ohio 


BY 


ALANSON  WILCOX 


ERRATA 

Page  36 :  Picture  of  Edwin  Wakefield  is  misnamed  ;  does  not 
belong. 

Page  271:  Pictures  top  row,  left  to  right,  should  read :  1 .  Mrs 
A.  M.  Atkinson;  2.  Mrs.  R.  R.  Sloan.  Second  line:  I .  Mrs 
Lois  White  MacLeod;  2.  Mrs.  M.  M.  B.  Goodwin 


CINCINNATI 

THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1918 
The  Standard  Publishing  G>mpany 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Intbodtjction    11 

I 

The  Chitbch  of  Chbist   13 

n 

Fauung  Aw  at  ;   21 

m 

Refobmebs   28 

IV 

Restobation  Movement    35 

V 

The  Restoeation  Movement  and  the  West- 

EEN  Reseeve    40 

VI 

Evangelism  on  the  Westebn  Reseeve   48 

vn 

PlONEEB  MiNISTEBS  OF  THE  WeSTEBN  ReSEBVE  57 

vm 

The  Dooteine  Then  and  Now   64 

IX 

Geeat  Leadees   67 

8 


CONTENTS 


X 

HiEAM  College    84 

XI 

A  Seemon  and  a  Life   103 

xn 

In  the  Civil  Wae   114 

xni 

The  First  Restoration  Chueoh  in  Ohio  . . .  121 

XIV 

In  Southben  Ohio   132 

XV 

Music    147 

XVI 

HiSTOBio  Dedication  Seemon  Delivered  by 
J.  S.  West  at  Libeety  Chapel,  Beown 
Co.,  O.,  in  1874   158 

xvn 

Histoeio  Dedication  Seemon — Continued . . .  169 

xvni 

1798— Waltee  ScoTa--1861    182 

XIX 

The  Restokation  in  Cincinnati   191 

XX 

The  ' '  Christian  Staitoaed"   205 

4 


CONTENTS 


XXI 

1820— Isaac  Ekeeti^1888    209 

xxn 

The  Standaed  Publishing  Company   215 

xxm 

MoNiN-GEB,  Davis  and  Rowe   224 

XXIV 

The  Field  of  Litebatttee   231 

XXV 

OiTE  Obganized  Wobk   237 

XXVI 

Maby  Alice  Lyons   244 

xxvn 

The  Chtjbch  at  Hillsbobo   252 

xxvrn 

Centeal  Ohio    255 

XXIX 

The  Ohio  Cheistian  Missionaey  Society.  . .  263 

XXX 

Annals  of  the  0.  C,  M.  S   275 

XXXI 

Sunday  Schools  rsr  Ohio   291 

5 


CONTENTS 


xxxn 

The  Sitkday  School  Ceisis   299 

Canton  and  Colitmbtjs   305 

XXXIV 

PlONEEES  rtr  NOBTHWESTEEN  OhIO   316 

XXXV 

Miscellaneous  Items  of  Intekest   342 


6 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Hiram  College,  Hiram,  Ohio  Frontispiece 

Pioneer  Preachers  of  Northern  Ohio   34 

Pioneer  Preachers,  Western  Reserve   39 

Some  Ohio  Pioneers   47 

Sixty  Years  Ago  in  Warren   52 

Western  Reserve  Churches  and  Ministers . .  56 
Old  Meeting-house,  Fredericktown,  Ohio ....  66 

Garfield  Monument,  Cleveland,  Ohio   77 

Western  Reserve  Eclectic  Institute  and  Prin- 
cipals of  the  Institute   83 

Hiram  College  Presidents   86 

Miss  Almeda  Booth  of  Early  Days  and 

Faculty  of  1900   88 

Members  of  Faculty  of  Hiram  CoUege,  1900 

and  Later    90 

M.  L.  Bates,  President,  and  Trustees  of 

Hiram  College    94 

Trustees  of  Hiram  College — Continued   96 

Telescope,   Hiram   College,    Presented  by 

Lathrop  Cooley    98 

Library  and  Observatory,  Hiram  College . . .  100 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  Building  at 

Hiram  College    104 

Euclid   Avenue    Meeting-house,  Cleveland, 

Ohio    112 

7 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Some  OMo  Preachers    113 

Sons  of  Veterans  Wlio  Have  Kept  the  Faith  120 

Some  Pioneers  of  the  Restoration   131 

Parsonage  Built  for  Samuel  Rogers   133 

Meeting-house,  New  Antioch,  Ohio   133 

Ministers  of  Southern  Ohio   138 

Some  Present-day  Ohio  Ministers   142 

Southern  Ohio  Pioneers   146 

Central  Christian  Church,  Ninth  Street,  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio    148 

Ministers  of  Cincinnati    151 

More  Restoration  Ministers    157 

Pioneer  Preachers   to  Whom   Ohio  Owes 

Much    168 

Some  Faithful  Ministers    180 

Pioneers  in  Southern  Ohio   181 

Cincinnati  Pioneers,  Prominent  in  City  and 

Church    190 

Stockholders  of  the  Christian  Publishing  As- 
sociation, Cleveland,  Ohio,  1866   204 

OflScers  of  The  Standard  Publishing  Com- 
pany,   Organized   1872,   in  Cincinnati, 

Ohio    214 

The  Standard  Publishing  Company  and  Its 

Executive  Committee,  1918   217 

Editors  and  Contributors,  Christian  Stand- 
ard   219 

Some  Standard  Contributors   221 

Contributors  of  To-day  to  Christian  Stand- 
ard   223 

8 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Bible-school  Workers  Past  and  Present, 
Standard  Series  Quarterlies  and  Peri- 
odicals   226 

Cincinnati  Preachers  of  Recent  Years   233 

Leaders  in  Organized  Work   236 

Ohio  Women  Who  Helped  to  Organize  the 
C.  W.  B.  M.  and  Gave  Aid  to  Make  It 

a  Success    240 

Leaders  and  Helpers,  Ohio  0.  W.  B.  M.,  1917  243 

More  Restoration  Leaders   259 

Secretary  and  Board  of  Managers,  O.  C.  M. 

S.,  1917    262 

Other  Leaders  in  0.  C.  M.  S.  Work   265 

Ohio's  Good  and  Faithful  Daughters  Whose 

Works  FoUow  Them   271 

Prominent  Secretaries,  0.  C.  M.  S.,  and 

Noted  Preachers  of  Ohio   274 

Mt.  Vernon  Female  Seminary,  Conducted  by 

R.  R.  Sloan  and  Mrs.  Sloan   277 

Map  of  Ohio  Counties — Number  of  Churches 

in  Each    282 

Ohio  Restoration  Workers   290 

A  Group  of  Restoration  Leaders   315 

Some  Ohio  Ministers   327 

Prominent  Ohio  Disciples   341 

Benefactors  of  the  Ohio  Work   346 

Tom  L.  Johnson  Monument,  Cleveland,  Ohio  349 


0 


INTRODUCTION 


J-JISTOE.Y  enriches  the  mind,  gratifies  a  worthy- 
desire  to  be  informed  on  past  events,  enables 
us  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  experience  of  our 
predecessors,  informs  and  regulates  our  judg- 
ment, and  is  profitable  for  reproof  and  correc- 
tion. The  earliest  records  of  humanity  are  found 
in  the  sacred  Scripture,  and  for  that  reason  they 
have  a  strong  claim  on  our  diligent  study.  Next 
to  inspired  history,  the  deeds  of  our  forefathers 
should  receive  our  attention.  To  disciples  of 
Christ  a  knowledge  of  our  disciple  history  is 
desirable.  Do  the  deeds  and  teaching  of  the  fore- 
fathers correspond  with  the  Scriptural  require- 
ments? A  third  generation  is  now  enjoying  the 
results  of  the  faith,  practice  and  trials  of  the 
forefathers.  Time,  culture  and  science  have 
wrought  transformation,  but  human  nature  is  the 
same  and  God's  cure  for  sin  is  unchanged.  Look- 
ing over  the  deeds  of  the  forefathers,  we  can 
correct  our  mistakes  and  hand  on  to  coming 
generations  all  they  did  which  was  Scriptural. 

Many  eminent  disciples  of  Ohio  have  not 
been  noticed  in  this  book  for  lack  of  space.  Per- 
haps at  our  centennial  in  1927  some  one  will  write 
a  complete  history  of  disciples  in  Ohio. 


11 


I 


THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST 

'T'HE  church  of  Christ  began  at  nine  o'clock  in 

the  morning  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  succeed- 
ing the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 

When  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  church,  Christ  is 
the  foundation,  and  the  high  priest  to  officiate 
for  its  members.  When  it  is  presented  as  a 
body,  Christ  is  the  head  and  gives  forth  its  guid- 
ing principles.  When  it  is  represented  as  a  king- 
dom, Christ  is  the  king  to  rule  in  and  reign  over 
the  subjects. 

These  are  not  three  different  institutions,  but 
are  identified  as  varying  views  of  the  same  insti- 
tution. (Col.  1:18-24;  Eph.  1:22;  4:15;  Matt. 
16:15-19;  1  Cor.  3:11.) 

The  church  was  built  on  Christ,  not  on  the 
person  of  Christ,  but  on  the  truth  that  represents 
Him,  "that  he  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." 

When  Peter  uttered  this  truth  (Matt.  16: 16), 
Christ  said,  "Thou  art  Peter  [Petros],  and  upon 
this  rock  [petra]  I  will  build  my  church." 

So  the  church  was  to  be  built  on  the  petra, 
or  confession,  or  truth,  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God,  and  not  on  Petros.  Paul,  speaking  of  the 
passage  of  the  Israelites  through  the  Red  Sea, 
says:  "They  were  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the 
cloud  and  in  the  sea;  and  did  all  eat  the  same 
spiritual  food;  and  did  all  drink  the  same  spir- 
itual drink :  for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock 
[petra]    that   foUow'ed   them:    and   that  rock 

13 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[petra]  was  Christ."  This  passage  expressly 
states  that  the  petra  is  Christ.  Prospectively 
Christ  says  of  this  divine  truth  annunciated  by 
Peter,  that  "the  gates  of  lieU  shall  not  prevail 
against  it." 

Accordingly  Christ  died,  and  on  the  third  day 
rose  from  the  dead.  The  gates  of  hell  did  not 
prevail  against  Him.  So  He  is  declared  to  be 
"the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to  the 
Spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead."  This  great  truth  standing  for  Christ  is 
forever  established. 

It  is  a  tried  stone.  The  prophet  says:  "Be- 
hold, I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a 
tried  stone,  a  precious  corner  stone,  a  sure  foun- 
dation; he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste." 
Peter  applies  this  prophecy  to  Christ  as  follows: 
"If  ye  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious. 
To  whom  coming,  as  unto  a  living  stone,  rejected 
indeed  of  men,  but  with  God  elect  and  precious, 
ye  also,  as  living  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual 
house,  an  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ."  Because  it  is  contained  in  Scripture: 
"Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  chief  comer  stone,  elect, 
precious :  and  he  that  believeth  on  him  shall  nof 
be  put  to  shame"  (1  Pet.  2:3-6). 

In  the  same  chapter  Peter  refers  to  Christ 
as  a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  (petra)  of 
offense.  So  it  is  affirmed  that  Christ  is  the  rock 
(petra)  on  which  the  church  is  built.  When 
and  how  was  this  stone  tried  T 

He  came  in  fulfillment  of  the  prophets  and 
types,  and  so  was  tried.  He  was  tried  by  Satan 
in  three  of  the  strongest  temptations:  the  lust 
of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of 

14 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


life;  and  Christ  was  victorious.  He  was  tried 
by  death  and  the  grave,  and  prevailed  over  them. 
After  these  trials  He  could  be  laid  as  a  corner 
stone. 

So  Peter,  on  the  memorable  day  of  Pentecost, 
an  account  of  which  is  found  in  the  second  chap- 
ter of  Acts  of  Apostles,  declares  that  God  raised 
Him  from  the  dead — took  Him  into  heaven,  gave 
Him  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  and  made 
Him  both  Lord  and  Christ. 

The  angels  declared  that,  as  He  went,  so  He 
should  come  again.  The  disciples  who  gazed 
heavenward  lost  track  of  Him.  What  was  done 
with  Him  they  did  not  know  until  the  Holy 
Spirit  removed  their  ignorance  by  declaring  Him 
Lord  and  Christ.  So  no  one  can  believe  in  Him 
as  Lord  but  in  or  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

He  came  as  a  spiritual  presence  as  He  prom- 
ised (Matt.  28:20),  and  has  ever  been  with  His 
true  disciples.  The  coronation  and  lordship  of 
Jesus  were  declared  by  Peter  on  the  memorable 
Pentecost.  The  foundation  of  His  church  hav- 
ing been  laid,  three  thousand  persons  were  im- 
mediately built  into  the  church  as  living  stones. 
The  church,  the  body  of  Christ,  on  that  day  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Spirit  and  He  has  dwelt  in  the 
body  ever  since.  All  who  become  members  of 
the  body  have  their  spirits  in  some  way  touched 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  are  made  partakers  of 
the  divine  nature  and  can  never  die.  They  take 
Christ  at  His  word,  and  He  so  declared. 

As  a  kingdom,  Christ's  reign  began  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  the  earthly  part  of  the  kingdom  is 
identical  with  His  church,  which  is  His  body  on 
earth.  The  conditions  of  membership  in  the 
church  are  found  in  Acts  of  Apostles  as  preached 

2  15 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


by  the  inspired  apostles  Peter  and  Paul  and 
Spirit-directed  evangelists. 

There  are  nine  successful  cases  of  conversion 
recorded  in  Acts  of  Apostles.  On  the  Pentecost 
after  the  resurrection  of  Christ  (Acts  2),  Peter 
preached  the  resurrection  and  coronation  of 
Christ  and  declared  the  infallible  proofs  of  His 
lordship,  and  commanded  the  three  thousand  be- 
lievers to  repent  and  be  baptized  for  remission 
of  their  sins.  The  heathen  jailor,  who  knew 
nothing  of  Christ,  was  cormnanded  to  believe, 
and  then,  to  produce  faith,  Paul  spake  unto  him 
the  word  of  the  Lord.  This  word  of  the  Lord 
included  the  command  to  be  baptized;  and  so 
straightway,  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  he  was 
baptized  (Acts  16:33). 

Paul,  on  his  way  to  Damascus  to  persecute 
the  Christians,  met  the  Lord  and  became  a  be- 
liever. And  after  three  days  of  praying,  Ananias 
told  him  to  be  baptized  and  wash  away  his  sins. 
Immediately  he  obeyed.  No  person  in  the  apos- 
tolic age  who  heard  and  believed  the  gospel, 
ever  waited  one  hour  before  he  was  baptized. 
Paul  waited  three  days  before  he  knew  he  ought 
to  be  baptized  (Acts  9). 

The  Samaritans,  when  they  believed  Philip 
preaching  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  bap- 
tized, both  men  and  women  (Acts  8:12).  Philip 
preached  Jesus  to  the  Ethiopian  treasurer  of 
Queen  Candace,  and  the  treasurer,  when  they 
came  to  a  certain  water,  said:  ''What  hinders 
me  to  be  baptized?"  The  answer  is:  "If  thou 
believest  with  all  thy  heart,  thou  mayest."  He 
said:  *'I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son 
of  God."    On  this  confession  Philip  baptized 

16 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


him,  and  the  celebrated  convert  went  on  his  way 
rejoicing  (Acts  8:35-39). 

Cornelius  was  the  first  Gentile  convert.  Mir- 
acles were  wrought  to  satisfy  Peter  and  the 
Jews  that  it  was  right  to  baptize  him.  He  was 
a  devout,  benevolent  man  and  in  a  place  of 
authority  in  military  affairs,  but  he  was  unsaved, 
according  to  the  new  dispensation  of  God's 
mercy  under  Jesus  Christ.  So  he  was  told  words 
whereby  he  should  be  saved.  The  Holy  Spirit 
baptism  was  given  to  him  as  to  the  apostles  at 
the  beginning  of  the  church,  and  Jesus  was  the 
baptizer.  The  law  of  pardon  and  induction  into 
the  kingdom  demanded  that  he  should  be  bap- 
tized in  water.  Peter  had  it  revealed  to  him 
that  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  God  and 
worketh  righteousness  is  accepted.  He  was  bap- 
tized and  saved  from  the  condemned  world 
(Acts  10  and  11). 

Lydia,  the  seller  of  purple  at  Thyatira,  at  a 
devotional  meeting  by  the  river-side,  heard  Paul 
preach,  and  the  Lord  opened  her  heart  and  she 
was  baptized  (Acts  16). 

The  Ephesians,  having  only  been  baptized 
unto  John's  baptism,  corrected  their  mistake  and 
"were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus" 
(Acts  19).  Many  of  the  Corinthians,  hearing, 
believed  and  were  baptized. 

All  the  conditions  of  church  membership  are 
not  mentioned  in  each  case  of  conversion,  but  all 
must  have  heard  the  gospel,  believed,  confessed 
Christ,  been  baptized,  received  the  remission  of 
their  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
creed  of  the  church  was  Christ,  and  not  a  se- 
lected set  of  dogmas.  Only  believers  in  Christ 
were  baptised.    The  authority  in  the  church  or 

17 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


body  or  kingdom  was  the  authority  of  Christ. 
It  was  transferred  to  the  apostles  by  Christ 
under  the  figure  of  keys  or  a  throne  or  in  specific 
instruction  (Matt.  16:19;  Matt.  19:28;  John  20: 
21-23;  Luke  10:16).  The  apostolic  authority  is 
in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  During  the 
personal  ministry  of  Christ  he  gave  out  the  gen- 
eral principles  of  his  kingdom  and  the  great  com- 
mission to  his  apostles  (Matt.  5,  6  and  7;  Matt. 
28:18-20). 

The  apostles,  as  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
gave  the  specific  instruction  in  harmony  with 
Christ's  commission  as  to  how  to  come  into  the 
kingdom  and  how  to  live  as  loyal  subjects.  The 
disciples  "continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles' 
teaching  and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread 
and  in  prayers"  (Acts  2:42).  The  disciples 
met  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  break  bread 
and  remember  Christ  in  his  sufferings  and  death 
and  resurrection  (Acts  20:7).  They  made  of- 
ferings on  the  first  day  of  the  week  for  benevo- 
lences and  for  carrying  on  their  work.  They 
did  this  voluntarily,  as  the  Lord  prospered 
them,  and  with  a  cheerful  heart  (1  Cor.  16:1, 
2).  They  settled  their  differences  by  confer- 
ences under  apostolic  authority  (Acts  15). 

The  law  of  expediency  was  used  where  there 
was  no  direct  revelation.  The  Mosaic  law  ruled 
before  Christ's  law  began.  Christ  honored  the 
law  of  Moses  by  living  under  it,  and  set  it  aside 
when  his  church  began  (Eph.  2:15;  Col.  2:14; 
Eom.  10:4).  The  moral  precepts  of  the  Mosaic 
law  are  reinforced  by  apostolic  teaching.  The 
law  of  the  Sabbath  began  after  the  exodus  from 
Egypt  (Deut.  5:15;  Ex.  20:10),  and  was  never 
reinforced  by  apostolic  command. 

18 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  disciples  met  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
called  the  Lord's  day,  to  break  bread  (Acts  20: 
7;  1  Cor.  11).  The  word  of  Christ  was  to  dwell 
in  them  richly  in  all  wisdom,  and  they  were  to 
teach  and  admonish  one  another  in  psalms  and 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs.  Not  only  did  they 
set  aside  the  law  of  Moses,  which  was  to  perish, 
but  also  the  commandments  and  doctrines  of 
men.  They  were  to  draw  out  of  their  faith  all 
the  Christian  graces  and  virtues,  and  then  an 
abundant  entrance  was  promised  to  them  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  heaven  (2  Pet.  1: 
5-11). 

When  the  first  church  at  Jerusalem  was  dis- 
persed they  went  everywhere  preaching  the 
Word,  making  believers,  planting  churches  and 
doing  the  will  of  God.  That  is  what  Christ 
came  for,  to  do  the  will  of  God  (Heb.  10).  The 
early  Christians  took  God,  in  Christ,  at  His  word, 
and  were  guided  by  His  will.  As  to  good  works, 
they  were  careful  to  maintain  them,  and  the 
apostles  gave  the  superintendency  of  this  over 
to  deacons  (Acts  6).  Paul  made  collections  for 
the  Jerusalem  poor.  The  early  disciples  cared 
for  exposed  children,  and  widows  over  seventy 
years  old  (1  Tim.  5).  Here  is  warrant  for 
orphanages  and  homes  for  the  aged. 

All  the  primitive  disciples  were  missionary 
in  spirit  and  practice.  Paul  was  the  most 
abundant  in  labors.  He  went  forth  from  Anti- 
och,  the  first  church  where  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles were  associated  together.  He  planted 
churches  in  many  of  the  principal  cities  of  west- 
em  Asia  and  eastern  Europe.  He  wrote  many 
letters  to  churches  and  individuals.  His  labors 
and  influence  have  had  more  to  do  in  the  shap- 

19 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


ing  of  the  history  of  Christian  nations  than 
those  of  any  man  that  ever  figured  in  the  affairs 
of  the  world. 

The  leaders  in  the  original  church  were  apos- 
tles, prophets,  evangelists,  elders,  deacons  and 
various  classes  of  helpers.  Apostles  must  have 
seen  the  Christ  before  and  after  his  resurrec- 
tion. There  were  twelve  of  them  (Matt.  10:2- 
4).  Judas  Iscariot  fell  away  by  betraying  the 
Lord.  Paul  took  his  place  by  the  call  of  Christ 
(Acts  9).  Matthias  was  selected  by  eleven  apos- 
tles to  fill  the  vacancy,  without  Christ's  authority 
and  before  the  Holy  Spirit  came  to  them. 

Prophets  assisted  the  apostles  in  starting  and 
establishing  the  kingdom.  Evangelists  continue 
as  preachers  so  long  as  the  whole  world  has  not 
been  reached.  Bishops,  elders  or  overseers  pre- 
sided over  the  spiritual  interests  of  congrega- 
tions. Deacons  attended  to  the  finances  and  be- 
nevolences of  the  church.  Any  Christian  may 
help  carry  out  the  will  and  purpose  of  Christ, 
as  the  circumstances  may  demand,  but,  that 
order  may  be  maintained  in  the  Lord's  work, 
evangelists,  elders  and  deacons  are  authorized 
leaders.  Individually,  the  disciples  are  called 
Christians,  saints,  brethren;  and,  in  a  collective 
capacity,  church  of  Christ  or  church  of  God. 


20 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


II 

FALLING  AWAY 

■"THERE  came  a  falling  away  from  apostolic 
teaching  and  practice.  It  commenced  in  the 
time  of  the  apostles.  The  letters  to  the  Gala- 
tians  and  Hebrews  give  such  indications.  In  the 
second  letter  to  the  Thessalonians  this  falling 
away  is  positively  mentioned,  and  it  is  stated 
that  the  mystery  had  already  begun  (2  Thess. 
2:3-10).  Judaizing  teachers,  as  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  had  made  void  the  law  of  God  by  their 
traditions.  Specially  was  this  true  after  Con- 
stantine,  in  A.  D.  311-327,  adopted  Christianity 
as  the  religion  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Persecu- 
tions against  Christians  had  largely  ceased.  But 
when  emperor  and  political  leaders  began  to 
inject  heathen  customs  and  legislate  for  the 
church,  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  original  Chris- 
tianity was  perverted. 

In  the  original  churches  there  were  elders,  or 
bishops  and  deacons,  connected  with  each  con- 
gregation. At  the  close  of  the  second  century  a 
change  had  commenced.  The  jurisdiction  of 
bishops  had  begun  to  extend  over  dependent 
churches  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  towns  and 
cities.  They  began  to  place  themselves  above 
the  "laity"  and  grew  into  a  distinct  order.  The 
bishop,  in  a  large  city,  acquired  a  precedence 
over  other  churches  in  the  same  district  and 

21 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


thus  the  metropolitan  system  grew  up.  A  higher 
grade  of  eminence  was  accorded  to  the  bishops 
and  churches  of  the  principal  cities.  Then  the 
bishops  of  principal  cities  began  to  claim  pre- 
eminence; and  when  the  seat  of  empire  was 
transferred  from  Rome  to  Constantinople,  there 
came  up  a  controversy  as  to  pre-eminence  that 
divided  the  church,  and  so  we  have  the  eastern 
Greek  Catholic  Church  and  the  western  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  These  churches  alternately 
excluded  each  other  from  time  to  time,  till  the 
division  was  permanent.  The  western  church 
continued  to  observe  the  Lord's  Supper  every 
first  day  of  the  week  for  about  three  hundred 
years.  The  Greeks  kept  up  this  custom  for 
about  seven  hundred  years.  Clinical  baptisms 
(so  called)  and  sprinkling  water  on  babies  for 
baptism  were  gradually  introduced  till  popes 
and  councils  in  1311  usurped  the  authority  of 
Christ  and  legalized  sprinkling  as  baptism  in 
the  western  or  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The 
eastern  church  adhered  to  immersion,  but  fell 
away  from  believers'  baptism  to  baptizing  in- 
fants and  from  Christ's  command  to  trine  im- 
mersion. 

Following,  now,  the  western  church,  all  kinds 
of  innovations  were  rapidly  introduced  till  there 
is  in  the  so-called  Roman  Catholic  Church  little 
semblance  to  the  New  Testament  church.  It  is 
a  religion  made  up  of  Jewish  rites,  heathen 
superstitions,  traditions  and  political  intrigues. 
In  the  so-called  church  they  have  holy  water, 
the  fast  of  Lent,  monastic  vows,  priestly  vest- 
ments and  the  sign  of  the  cross,  praying  for  the 
dead,  purgatory  and  paschal  candles,  invocation 
of  saints,  images  and  extreme  unction,  sacrifices 

22 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


for  the  dead,  wax  candles,  the  real  presence, 
compulsory  celibacy,  assumption  of  temporal 
power,  canonization  of  saints,  redemption  of 
penances,  monasticism,  auricular  confessions, 
elevation  of  the  host,  Bible  forbidden  to  laity, 
indulgences,  rosary  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  sale  of 
indulgences,  Papal  usurpation,  priest  drinking 
the  wine  instead  of  the  people,  infant  baptism, 
sprinkling  water  instead  of  immersion,  Papal 
primacy,  tradition  superior  to  the  Scriptures. 

Bishop  Newton  observes:  "The  foundation  of 
papacy  was  laid,  indeed,  in  the  Apostles'  days, 
but  the  superstructure  was  raised  by  degrees, 
and  several  ages  passed  before  the  building  was 
completed,  and  the  mansion  was  revealed  in  full 
perfection." 

Costerus,  a  popular  writer  of  his  day,  says: 
"The  excellency  of  the  unwritten  word  doth  far 
surpass  the  Scripture,  which  the  apostles  left 
us  in  parchments :  the  one  is  written  by  the 
finger  of  God,  the  other  by  the  pen  of  apostles. 
The  Scripture  is  a  dead  letter,  written  on  paper 
or  parchment,  which  may  be  razed  or  wrested  at 
pleasure,  but  tradition  is  written  in  men's  hearts, 
which  can  not  be  altered. 

"The  Scripture  is  like  a  scabbard  that  will 
receive  any  sword,  either  leaden  or  wooden  or 
brazen,  and  suffereth  itself  to  be  drawn  by  any 
interpretation.  Tradition  retains  the  true  sword 
in  the  scabbard;  that  is,  the  true  sense  of  the 
Scripture  in  the  sheath  of  the  letter.  The  Scrip- 
tures do  not  contain  clearly  all  the  mysteries  of 
religion,  for  they  were  not  given  to  that  end  to 
prescribe  an  actual  form  of  faith;  but  tradition 
contains  in  it  all  truth,  it  comprehends  all  the 
mysteries  of  faith,  and  all  the  estate  of  the 

23 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Christian  religion,  and  resolves  all  doubts  which 
may  arise  concerning  faith;  and  from  hence  it 
will  follow  that  tradition  is  the  interpreter  of  all 
Scriptures,  the  judge  of  all  controversies,  the 
removal  of  all  errors,  and  from  whose  judgment 
we  ought  not  to  appeal  to  any  other  judge;  yes, 
rather,  all  judges  are  bound  to  regard  and  fol- 
low this  judgment."  These  tradition  teachers 
are  constantly  advocating  their  theory. 

**The  barriers  of  the  ancient  simplicity  and 
truth,"  says  Mosheim,  being  once  violated,  the 
state  of  theology  waxed  worse  and  worse;  and 
the  amount  of  the  impure  and  superstitious  ad- 
ditions to  the  religion  of  Christ  is  almost  in- 
credible. The  controversial  theologians  of  the 
East  continued  to  darken  the  great  doctrines  of 
revelation  by  the  most  subtle  distinctions,  and  I 
know  not  what  philosophical  jargon.  Those  who 
instructed  the  people  at  large  made  it  their  sole 
care  to  imbue  them  more  and  more  with  ig- 
norance, superstition,  reverence  for  the  clergy, 
and  admiration  of  empty  ceremonies;  and  to 
divest  them  of  all  sense  and  knowledge  of  true 
piety.  Nor  is  this  strange,  for  the  blind — that 
is,  for  the  most  part  grossly  ignorant  and 
thoughtless — were  the  leaders  of  the  blind.  The 
summary,  it  may  be  stated,  led  to  pray  to  saints 
and  worship  their  images ;  which  trusted  to  relics 
to  remove  defects  of  body  and  soul;  which  relied 
upon  the  fires  of  purgatory  to  remove  sin,  and 
on  purchased  prayers  to  remove  purgatory. 
Which  found  cleansing  efficacy  everywhere  but 
in  the  despised  blood  of  Christ,  and  even  em- 
ployed oil  taken  from  sepulchral  lamps  of  mar- 
tyrs for  the  purpose — ^which  subverted  all  things 
with  tradition." 

24 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  falling  away  is  also  covered  in  the  Scrip- 
tares  by  the  expression  going  "into  the  wilder- 
ness." They  started  in  the  apostolic  age  and 
reached  the  wilderness  in  A.  D.  666.  From  that 
date  the  Papacy  was  in  full  swing.  Some  of 
the  things  listed  as  against  them  in  this  chapter 
were  concocted  and  introduced  later  than  A.  D. 
666.   When  will  they  all  cease? 

That  the  church  fell  away  from  apostolic 
teaching  and  practice,  and  went  into  the  wilder- 
ness, is  evident.  It  will  be  remembered  that, 
when  the  Israelites  were  rescued  from  Egyptian 
bondage,  they  came  to  Mt.  Sinai  in  fifty  days, 
and  Moses,  as  mediator,  received  for  them  the 
law  of  the  Lord.  They  pledged  themselves  to 
obey  the  law.  They  were  soon  instructed  to  send 
spies  into  the  proposed  promised  land.  All  of 
the  spies,  except  Caleb  and  Joshua,  reported  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  take  the  land.  The 
people,  also  murmured,  and  distrusted  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Almighty,  and  were  compelled  to 
wander  in  the  wilderness  forty  years.  All  the 
men  of  Israel  who  were  over  twenty  years  of 
age  when  they  left  Egypt,  perished,  except  Caleb 
and  Joshua  (Num.  14:30).  The  Lord  predicted 
this  forty  years'  wandering  in  the  wilderness. 
This  suggests  to  the  minds  of  some  that  he  had 
predicted  the  duration  of  the  church  wandering 
in  its  wilderness.  P.  Y.  Pendleton,  in  his  book 
''The  Great  Demonstration,"  declares  that  ''the 
Lord  tells  us  several  times  that  the  wandering 
will  last  1,260  prophetic  days  or  years.  The 
count  for  these  years  begins  at  the  appointed 
time  (Dan.  11:  29),  which  is  A.  D.  666,  and  they 
end  in  A.  D.  1926.  The  first  time  these  years 
are  given  is  in  Daniel,  and  the  words  are  about 

25 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  little  or  western  or  Catholic  horse,  which  is 
'Hades,'  and  which  drives  the  fourth  and  last 
division  of  the  church  into  the  wilderness  just 
as  the  eagle  gives  his  call,  and  the  words  are: 
'And  he  shall  speak  words  against  the  Most 
High,  and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High:  and  he  shall  think  to  change  the  times 
and  the  law:  and  they  shall  be  given  into  his 
hands  until  a  time  and  times  and  a  half  time' 
(Dan.  7:25),  or  1,260  years.  'And  the  woman 
[the  church]  fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she 
hath  a  place  prepared  of  God,  that  there  they 
may  nourish  her  a  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
threescore  days'  (Bev.  12:6),  or  1,260  years." 

During  the  period  of  1,260  years  there  were 
individual  saints  and  communities  that  tried  to 
walk  in  the  light  of  God's  truth.  There  were 
Albigenses,  Nestorians,  Waldenses  and  others 
that  tried  to  serve  the  Lord  acceptably.  The 
light  of  God's  truth,  however,  was  darkened — 
the  Scriptures  were  taken  from  the  common  peo- 
ple— and  so  we  have  the  Dark  Ages.  "Where 
there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish."  In  the 
days  when  Samuel  ministered  unto  the  Lord  be- 
fore Eli,  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  precious : 
there  was  no  open  vision  (1  Sam.  3:1).  So,  in 
the  dark  days  of  the  apostasy,  the  vision  of  faith 
was  obscured,  and,  like  the  blind  man  in  the 
time  of  Christ,  they  saw  men  as  trees  walking. 

Fisher,  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  church, 
makes  this  record:  "In  the  devotional  system  of 
the  Middle  Ages  the  celestial  hierarchy  of  angels 
had  an  important  place.  Apparitions  of  angels 
were  believed  to  be  not  infrequent.  They  were 
protectors  against  the  demoniacal  spirits  with 
which  the  air  was  peopled.   The  swarming,  busy, 

26 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


indefatigablt;,  malignant  spirits  claimed  the 
world  of  men  as  their  own.  They  assumed 
grotesque  and  repulsive  forms.  Satan  was  fig- 
ured as  having  horns,  a  tail  and  the  cloven  foot. 
Connected  with  this  ever-present  superstition, 
the  torment  of  the  young  and  the  old,  was  the 
belief  in  magic  spells  and  the  efficacy  of  talis- 
mans. The  patent  reliance  of  the  timid,  tempted, 
persecuted  soul  was  in  the  help  and  intercession 
of  the  saints.  These  multiplied  in  number  as 
time  advanced.  Every  church,  every  village  had 
its  tutelary  spirits.  The  miracles  which  they 
were  believed  to  have  wrought  were  number- 
less. .  .  .  Far  above  all  the  saints  in  the  popular 
veneration  was  the  Virgin  Mary.  In  the  numer- 
ous hymns  to  Mary  she  was  described  in  most 
glowing  terms  of  praise,  and  was  exalted  to  a 
position  of  almost  controlling  influence  over  the 
divine  Son.  With  the  growing  worship  of  mar- 
tyrs and  saints,  the  interest  in  their  relics  in- 
creased. They  were  required  in  every  new 
church  that  was  to  be  consecrated.  They  were 
usually  placed  upon  the  altar  or  beneath  it. 
They  were  worn  upon  the  person.  Of  their  ef- 
ficiency in  working  miracles  there  was  no  doubt. 
An  oath  taken  upon  the  relics  of  saints  was 
clothed  with  awful  sanctity.  Its  violation  was 
a  terrible  sin.  The  Crusades  afforded  the  means 
of  gratifying  the  desire  for  relics,  which  became 
proportionately  more  intense.  The  sale  of  them 
grew  to  be  a  branch  of  trade.  Vast  sums  of 
money  were  expended  in  purchasing  relics,  pieces 
of  apparel  or  bones  of  the  saints.  The  homage 
paid  to  saints  and  relics  amounted  to  a  kind  of 
polytheism." 


27 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


III 

REFORMERS 

JT  took  centnries  for  the  church  to  fall  away 
and  go  into  the  wilderness.  It  will  not  be 
thought  strange  if  it  takes  centuries  to  return 
to  apostolic  teaching  and  simplicity.  Some  good 
things  were  developed  during  the  Dark  Ages. 
Music  was  invented,  art  was  developed,  archi- 
tecture was  fascinating,  but  Christian  faith  and 
living  waned.  The  Nestorians  and  others  pre- 
served a  remnant  of  the  primitive  order  of 
things.  The  day,  however,  began  to  dawn  in  due 
time. 

From  the  twelfth  century  there  were  found 
here  and  there  antisacerdotals  who  indulged  in 
invectives  against  the  immoralities  of  the  priest- 
hood and  their  usurpation  of  power.  Radical 
and  influential  persons  began  to  move  to  the 
front,  as  Huss,  Jerome  of  Prague  and  John 
Wyclif.  One  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  the 
days  of  Luther,  Wyclif  antagonized  the  preten- 
sions of  the  Papacy.  He  set  aside  Papal  decrees 
by  a  direct  appeal  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He 
denied  transubstantiation ;  condemned  auricular 
confession;  held  that  the  power  to  bind  and  loose 
is  of  no  effect  unless  it  conforms  to  the  doctrine 
of  Christ;  opposed  the  multiplied  ranks  of  the 
clergy — ^popes,  cardinals,  patriarchs,  monks  and 
canons;  repudiated  the  doctrine  of  indulgences, 

28 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  doctrine  of  the  excellency  of  poverty  as  it 
lay  at  the  foundation  of  the  mendicant  orders; 
set  himself  against  pictures  in  worship  and  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy.  He  predicted  there  would 
arise  from  monks  themselves  men  who  would 
abandon  their  false  interpretations  of  Scrip- 
tures and  would  try  to  reconstruct  the  church  in 
the  spirit  of  Paul.  He  translated  the  Scriptures 
into  the  English  language  in  1384.  Though  this 
translation  was  only  in  manuscript,  it  had  a 
powerful  influence  in  England.  Huss,  on  the 
Continent,  sympathized  with  Wyclif  and,  in  1415, 
was  burned  as  a  heretic.  One  year  later  Jerome 
of  Prague  was  martyred.  Wyclif  is  called  the 
morning  star  of  the  Reformation.  Fifty  years 
after  his  death  his  enemies  took  up  his  bones, 
burned  them  and  scattered  the  ashes  on  near-by 
waters. 

Savonarola,  an  Italian  priest,  cried  out 
against  Romanism,  and  was  burned  to  death  and 
his  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  river  Arno  in 
1498.  Tyndale,  a  century  and  a  half  after  Wyclif, 
and  after  printing  had  been  discovered,  put  a 
printed  Bible  into  the  hands  of  the  people. 
He  had  to  go  to  the  Continent  to  do  his  work. 
His  enemies  applied  the  extreme  argument  and 
strangled  him  at  the  stake.  So  the  heroic  spirit 
of  the  father  of  the  open  Bible  passed  from 
earth. 

The  Reformation  began  in  Germany  in  1517. 
Luther  had  been  a  monk,  but  his  insight  caused 
him  to  become  doubtful  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
church.  He  adopted  as  the  watchword  of  the 
Reformation,  "The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 
To  defray  the  expense  of  building  the  great 
Cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  Leo  X.  pushed 

29 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  sale  of  indulgences.  So  great  had  this  abuse 
become  that  it  was  even  farmed  out  to  bankers 
and  others  for  private  gain.  The  Primate  of 
Germany,  a  young  and  very  unmoral  archbishop, 
had  bought  his  ecclesiastical  dignities  at  such  an 
enormous  sum  that  the  Pope  was  moved  to  aid 
him  by  a  special  dispensation  of  indulgences. 
The  archbishop  employed  Tetzel,  a  Dominican 
monk  of  questionable  character,  as  agent  for 
these — a  sort  of  sales  manager — throughout  Ger- 
many. Tetzel  traveled  over  the  country  crying: 
**Pour  in  your  money,  and  whatever  crimes  you 
have  committed,  or  may  commit,  are  forgiven! 
Pour  in  your  coin,  and  the  souls  of  your  friends 
and  relatives  will  fly  from  purgatory  the  mo- 
ment they  hear  the  clink  of  your  money  at  the 
bottom  of  the  box."  Luther  preached  vigorously 
in  Wittenberg  against  the  traffic  in  indulgences. 
In  October,  1517,  Luther  nailed  to  his  church 
door  the  celebrated  theses,  boldly  denying  the 
Pope's  right  to  sell  indulgences,  and  declaring 
the  remission  of  sins  is  from  God  alone.  Tetzel 
made  reply  to  this,  but  the  Pope  gave  little  at- 
tention to  it  at  first,  saying:  "It  is  a  quarrel  of 
the  monks."  But  Dr.  Eck,  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Ingolstat,  published  a  book  show- 
ing that  Luther  was  guilty  of  the  same  heresy 
alleged  against  John  Huss.  In  controversy  with 
Dr.  Eck,  Luther  maintained  that  the  Papacy  was 
a  development  some  centuries  after  the  rise  of 
Christianity,  by  human  arrangement.  At  this, 
Leo  X.  became  aroused  to  the  significance  of  the 
movement  started  by  Luther  in  Germany. 

Luther  was  excommunicated  after  having 
been  summoned  to  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1518, 
and  his  books  were  condenmed  to  be  publicly 

30 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


burned.  But  Luther  burned  the  Papal  bull  of 
excommunication  in  the  public  square  of  Witten- 
berg. Summoned  to  the  Diet  of  Worms  in  1521, 
the  emperor,  Charles  V.,  offered  him  safe  con- 
duct. Luther's  friends  warned  him  not  to  go, 
but  the  intrepid  reformer  said:  "I  will  go  to 
Worms  if  there  be  as  many  devils  there  as  tiles 
upon  the  roofs  of  the  houses," 

Melancthon  drew  up  articles  of  faith,  which 
were  sanctioned  by  Luther,  and  so  we  have  the 
Augsburg  Confession  of  Faith,  which  is  adopted 
by  the  Lutherans. 

In  Switzerland,  Zwingli,  born  in  1484,  became 
the  leader  of  the  Reformation,  and  is  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

John  Calvin  fled  from  persecution  in  France 
to  Switzerland.  He  followed  St.  Augustine 
rather  than  the  Scriptures,  and  so  we  have  the 
doctrine  of  predestination.  In  Scotland  the  fol- 
lowers of  Calvin  were  called  Presbyterians.  In 
England,  Henry  VIII.  quarreled  with  the  Pope 
and  started  the  Church  of  England.  Two  hun- 
dred years  later  Wesley  tried  to  inject  more 
spirituality  into  the  church,  and,  as  the  result, 
we  have  Methodism.  Now,  in  our  United  States, 
there  are  scores  of  denominational,  sectarian 
churches,  all  of  them  better  than  the  medieval 
Roman  Catholic  or  Greek  Catholic  churches. 
Are  we  not  in  a  wilderness  of  creeds?  What 
about  the  church  of  God?  No  historian,  aside 
from  God,  can  write  that  history.  For  1,260 
years  it  is  wandering  in  the  wilderness.  The 
true  church  is  not  in  Catholicism.  Is  it  in 
Protestantism? 

In  1870  a  committee  of  disciples  from  the 
Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  bore  fraternal 

3  31 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


greetings  to  the  Baptists  of  Ohio.  That  com- 
mittee was  composed  of  eminent  men:  Isaac  Er- 
rett,  E.  E.  Sloan,  E.  M,  Bishop,  Thomas  Munnell, 
B.  A.  Hinsdale  and  W.  T.  Moore.  In  their  greet- 
ing they  stated: 

"As  a  people,  we  are  seeking  the  restoration 
of  the  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament,  in 
letter  and  in  spirit,  in  principle  and  in  practice. 
We  clearly  see  to  be  involved  in  this  the  over- 
throw of  denominationalism,  the  repudiation  of 
human  creeds  as  authoritative  expressions  of 
faith  or  bonds  of  fellowship,  the  annihilation  of 
party  names,  and  the  reunion  of  God's  scattered 
people  in  one  body,  under  the  leadership  of  Jesus 
the  Christ,  that  they  may  be  bound  together 
simply  by  a  common  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
a  common  loyalty  to  him  as  their  only  sovereign, 
and  with  one  mind  and  one  heart  strive  together 
for  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  In  view  of  the  ter- 
rible apostasy  which  all  j&nd  embodied  in  the 
Church  of  Eome,  we  look  with  lively  sympathy 
on  every  Protestant  movement  tending  away 
from  Babylon  and  toward  Jerusalem.  From  the 
time  of  Wyclif  down,  we  pause  to  praise  God  for 
every  glorious  revolutionary  movement  that 
tends  to  break  the  spell  of  priestly  authority  and 
guide  captive  souls  out  into  the  light  of  God's 
word. 

**We  rejoice  to-day  in  every  indication  of 
restlessness  and  disquiet  among  Protestant 
sects  which  renews  the  protest  against  human 
authority  and  sighs  for  a  purer  and  completer 
loyalty  to  Jesus  than  Protestantism  has  yet 
reached;  and  we  are  confident  that  God  has, 
among  these  great  Protestant  parties,  a  people 
yet  to  be  called  out  from  remaining  errors  and 

32 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


corruptions  and  enrolled  under  the  glorious  old 
banner  which  the  apostles  unfurled  in  Jerusalem, 
But  we  are  compelled  to  regard  all  these  Prot- 
estant movements  as  imsatisf actory ;  and,  while 
gratefully  recognizing  the  obligations  we  are 
under  to  the  men  and  the  parties  that  urged 
on  the  work  of  reformation,  alike  among  the 
Lutherans,  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  inde- 
pendents and  Methodists,  we  are  still  constrained 
to  regard  their  best  performances  as  falling 
short  of  the  desired  object,  if  the  restoration  of 
primitive  Christianity  is  had  in  view  as  the  great 
object  to  be  attained. 

''As  movements  tending  onward  toward  the 
grand  object  sought,  we  have  pleasure  in  them; 
but  as  furnishing  the  consummation  so  devoutly 
wished  for,  we  are  compelled  to  repudiate  them. 
The  church  of  Christ  and  the  Christianity  of 
the  New  Testament,  pure  and  simple,  are  not 
found  in  any  of  these  sects  to-day,  nor  can  they 
be  found  in  any  possible  combination  of  sects." 

Has  not  the  time  come  when  the  church  of 
Christ  shall  be  called  out  of  Babylon — and  the 
wilderness  of  creeds? 


83 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  EN  OHIO 


IV 

RESTORATION  MOVEMENT 

■^HE  clmrcli  of  Christ,  which  began  by  his  au- 
thority on  the  day  of  Pentecost  succeeding 
his  crucifixion,  an  account  of  which  is  found  in 
the  second  chapter  of  Acts  of  Apostles,  after  a 
series  of  years  wandered  or  fell  away  from 
apostolic  teaching  and  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  went  into  the  wilderness.  After  a 
long,  dark  period  in  the  wilderness  of  apostasy, 
individuals  and  communities  began  to  feel  after 
a  better  order  of  things.  The  light  began  to 
dawn.  Reformers  and  reformations  multiplied. 
But  they  divided  among  themselves  and  each 
community  crystallized  around  the  teaching  of 
its  respective  leader.  They  all  said:  ''Thus  far 
shalt  thou  go  in  reformation,  and  no  farther. 
Our  formula  of  doctrine,  our  creed,  contains 
what  is  in  the  Bible,  and  you  must  come  to  us 
or  you  do  not  come  to  God." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
individuals  in  various  localities  deplored  the  con- 
dition in  which  our  country  was  found  relig- 
iously. Infidelity  and  sectarianism  were  rampant. 
The  colleges  had  few  professed  Christians  in 
them.  Dueling,  slavery,  intemperance  and  in- 
fidelity were  prevalent.  Church-members  were 
throwing  theological  brickbats  at  one  another. 
Ministers  did  not  exchange  pulpits.    The  pre- 

35 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


vailing  religions  thought  of  the  people  was  Cal- 
vinistic.  Bro.  J.  Harrison  Jones  used  to  de- 
scribe it  about  as  follows:  **If  you  haven't  got 
religion,  you  can't  get  it.  If  you  get  it,  you 
don't  know  it.  If  you  know  it,  you  haven't  got  it. 
If  you  have  got  it,  you  can't  lose  it.  If  you  lose 
it,  you  never  had  it."  There  was  the  mourners' 
bench  system  of  getting  religion  among  the  Meth- 
odists, the  anxious-seat  among  the  Presbyterians, 
and  the  religious  experience  among  the  Baptists, 
and  all  these  theories  unknown  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. The  word  of  God  was  regarded  as  a  dead 
letter.  Faith  did  not  come  as  a  result  of  testi- 
mony, but  was  a  direct  gift  from  God. 

At  this  critical  time,  in  1807-1809,  there  came 
to  this  country  from  Scotland  some  God-fearing, 
God  -  reverencing.  Scripture  -  believing  men  — 
Thomas  Campbell  and  his  son  Alexander  Camp- 
bell. They  were  Seceder  Presbyterians.  They 
tried  to  bring  about  a  different  order  of  things 
in  religion.  Thomas  Campbell  got  out  a  religious 
declaration  of  independence  in  1809.  Alexander 
Campbell  sanctioned  it.  They  adopted,  in  mat- 
ters of  faith,  the  motto:  * 'Where  the  Scriptures 
speak,  we  speak;  where  the  Scriptures  are  silent, 
we  are  silent."  This  position  led  them  to  be 
baptized,  and  they  went  to  the  Baptist  Red  Stone 
Association  in  Pennsylvania.  Scriptural  investi- 
gation led  Alexander  Campbell  to  make  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  law  (of  Moses)  and  the  gospel 
under  Christ.  The  Red  Stone  Association  op- 
posed him,  and  he  joined  the  Baptist  Mahoning 
Association  in  Ohio.  He  had  planted  a  church 
at  Wellsburg,  Va.,  and  it  was  admitted  to  the 
Ohio  Association.  The  Campbells  claimed  that 
infidelity  is  wrong,  sectarianism  is  wrong,  divi- 

36 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


sions  among  believers  are  wrong,  and  the  thing 
to  do  is  to  restore  original  New  Testament 
Christianity.  Seek  unity  in  the  household  of  be- 
lievers, and,  through  this  unity,  go  forth  to  the 
evangelization  and  salvation  of  the  world. 

Alexander   Campbell's   teaching,  personally 

i  and  through  his  periodical,  the  Christian  Baptist, 
permeated  the  Mahoning  Association,  and  in 
1827  the  association  employed  Walter  Scott  as 
an  evangelist;  and  he  preached  the  New  Testa- 
ment doctrine  that  baptism  is  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  he  and  the  Campbells  and  the  as- 
sociated churches  abandoned  their  human  creeds 
and  joined  together  to  restore  original  Chris- 
tianity. They  used  the  text  of  Jeremiah  (chap. 
6:16):  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Stand  ye  in  the 
ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where 
is  the  good  way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall 
find  rest  for  your  souls."  They  declared  that 
we  should  hearken  to  God  and  not  to  men. 

stupendous  task  of  calling  the  religious 

,-^-^^orld  back  to  the  original  teaching  of  the  Word 
in  precept  and  principle,  in  doctrine  and  practice, 
in  faith  hoping  for  apostolic  results,  is  now  upon 
us.  This  position  is  so  broad  that  all  men  can 
stand  upon  it,  and  as  narrow  as  Christ  him- 
self made  it.  Christ  prayed  for  everything  em- 
braced in  our  plea.  The  future  church  must  be 
the  one  established  by  Christ  and  his  apostles 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  If  it  was  right  then, 
it  is  right  now. 

Paul  tells  us  there  are  seven  gospel  unities 
(Eph.  4:1-6).  In  order  to  restore  the  New 
Testament  church,  there  must  be  unity  of  wor- 
ship, because  there  is  one  God;  there  must  be 
unity  of  authority,  because  there  is  one  Lord  and 

37 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Christ;  there  must  be  unity  of  practice,  because 
there  is  one  baptism;  there  must  be  unity  of 
preaching,  because  there  is  one  faith;  there  must 
be  unity  of  organization,  because  there  is  one 
body;  there  must  be  unity  of  life,  because  there 
is  one  Spirit ;  there  must  be  unity  of  purpose,  be- 
cause there  is  one  hope.  The  Great  Commission 
contains  every  essential  and  omits  every  non- 
essential in  God's  ritual.  It  tells  clearly  what  a 
man  must  do  to  become  a  Christian.  We  must 
preach  it  just  as  it  is — all  of  it  and  nothing  else. 


38 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Philander  Green  J.  Harrison  Jones  Orange  Higgins 

PIONEEE  PEEACHEES,  WESTEEN  EESEEVE 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


V 


THE  RESTORATION  MOVEMENT  AND  THE 
WESTERN  RESERVE 


HE  "Western  Eeserve  includes  eleven  cotin- 


ties  in  northeastern  Ohio.  Before  the  Bevo- 
Intionary  War,  Connecticut  claimed  lands  reach- 
ing far  west.  After  the  formation  of  the  United 
States  Government,  she  ceded  all  her  lands  to 
the  United  States  except  three  million  acres,  in 
what  is  now  northeastern  Ohio.  Originally  this 
tract  was  called  **The  Connecticut  Western  Re- 
serve." Later  the  word  Connecticut "  was 
dropped  otf,  and  it  is  now  known  as  ''The  West- 
ern Reserve."  It  was  settled  mostly  by  people 
from  New  England.  The  original  lands  were 
surveyed  into  townships  five  miles  square.  At 
the  center  of  each  township  a  village  grew  up. 
Schools  and  churches  were  planted,  and  business 
establishments  were  started.  Our  Pilgrim  fore- 
fathers came  from  England  via  Holland,  and 
were  home  missionaries.  They  were  planters  of 
churches,  the  founders  of  schools  and  foreign 
missionary  societies.  The  settlers  of  the  West- 
ern Reserve  brought  their  religion  with  them,  so 
that  in  nearly  every  township  of  the  Reserve 
was  planted  a  Congregationalist  church.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  Baptist  and 
Methodist  churches  sprang  up^  and  later  all 
kinds  of  religious  and  infidel  fads. 


40 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


In  1820  the  Mahoning  Baptist  Association  was 
formed.  The  constitution  declares:  "It  is  our 
object  to  glorify  God."  After  stating  items  in 
their  creed,  it  closes  by  saying:  "Finally,  we  be- 
lieve the  Holy  Scriptures  to  be  the  only  certain 
rule  of  faith  and  practice."  Each  church  was 
left,  also,  to  form  its  own  creed.  Calvinism  pre- 
vailed. The  human  creeds  would  not  stay  fixed. 
The  association  had  sixteen  churches.  In  1826 
Wellsburg  (Va.)  Church  was  received  into  the 
association.  Alexander  Campbell  was  one  of  the 
messengers  from  Wellsburg  Church  to  the  Ma- 
honing Baptist  Association.  The  letter  of  intro- 
duction discriminated  between  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  portions  of  the  Bible,  and  repudiated 
all  human  authority  over  the  churches,  and  really 
contained  the  germs  of  our  Restoration  move- 
ment. Bro.  Campbell  frequently  visited  the  min- 
isterial meetings  of  the  association.  In  1823  the 
Christian  Baptist  was  started  and  circulated  in 
the  association  churches.  The  discussion  be- 
tween Walker  and  Campbell  was  read.  Also  the 
McCalla  and  Campbell  debate.  And  so  a  leaven- 
ing influence  was  going  on.  The  Scripture  motto 
of  the  Christian  Baptist  was:  "Style  no  man  on 
earth  your  Father;  for  he  alone  is  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven;  and  all  ye  are  brethren.  As- 
sume not  the  title  of  Rabbi;  for  ye  have  only 
one  teacher;  neither  assume  the  title  of  leader, 
for  ye  have  only  one  leader,  the  Messiah"  (Matt. 
23:8,9). 

The  association  met  in  New  Lisbon  in  1827. 
At  this  meeting  Walter  Scott  was  chosen  as 
evangelist.  A  sentiment  had  been  growing  in  the 
association  that  they  should  repudiate  human 
creeds  as  authoritative  and  follow  the  Scriptures. 

41 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  held  a  successful  meet- 
ing at  New  Lisbon,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  mod- 
ern times,  presented  the  Scriptural  plan  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sin.  Nearly  all  of  the  churches 
of  the  association  repudiated  their  human  creeds 
and  accepted  Christ  as  their  creed  and  the  Scrip- 
tures to  guide  them  in  all  matters  of  faith  and 
worship.  The  Mantua  Church  was  the  first  to 
completely  take  apostolic  grounds,  as  their  dec- 
laration was  made  in  the  fore  part  of  1827,  and 
the  New  Lisbon  movement  was  in  the  latter  part 
of  1827. 

The  restoration  of  the  primitive  gospel  move- 
ment spread  rapidly.  They  pleaded  for  a  return 
to  apostolic  teaching  and  practice.  They  bap- 
tized believers  on  profession  of  their  faith  in 
Christ  for  remission  of  sins.  They  met  the  first 
day  of  every  week  to  attend  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. They  made  offerings  every  first  day  for 
self-support  and  for  a  relief  fund.  This  relief 
fund  offering  for  the  poor  is  kept  up  in  some  of 
the  oldest  churches  to  this  time.  They  called 
themselves  individually  disciples  of  Christ,  or 
Christians.  Li  a  collective  capacity  they  desired 
to  be  known  as  "churches  of  Christ."  They 
thought  they  had  the  only  ground  of  Christian 
unity  for  which  Christ  prayed.  They  called  on 
all  believers  to  come  out  of  Babylon  and  to 
restore  original  Christianity.  They  adopted  all 
that  Luther  and  other  Protestants  advocated 
which  was  Scriptural,  but  protested  that  they 
had  not  gone  far  enough.  It  was  not  so  much 
reformation  that  was  needed  as  restoration  of 
original  apostolic  teaching.  They  tried  to  break 
away  from  all  human  religious  shackles.  They 
repudiated  the  title  of     Reverend"  for  their 

42 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


ministers.  Instead  of  Sabbath  or  Sunday,  they 
used  the  ''first  day  of  the  week"  or  "Lord's 
day."  They  tried  to  speak  of  Scriptural  things 
in  Scriptural  language.  They  discriminated  be- 
tween opinions  and  faith,  and  held  that  faith 
and  the  obedience  of  faith  brought  the  joy  of 
salvation.  They  held  that  opinions  would  neither 
save  nor  damn  a  person.  They  were  to  receive 
one  another  without  reference  to  opinions,  and 
opinions  must  not  be  bound  on  others  as  tests 
of  fellowship.  The  old  association  meetings  were 
continued  as  evangelistic  meetings  till  they  grew 
so  large  that  they  were  unwieldy  and  were  most- 
ly abandoned.  Isaac  Errett  was  the  first  settled 
minister  in  this  new  order  of  things,  first  at 
New  Lisbon  and  later  at  Warren. 

Men,  women  and  young  people  did  as  in 
apostolic  times — they  went  everywhere  preach- 
ing the  Word.  They  carried  the  New  Testament 
with  them  in  forest,  field  and  family.  They  were 
compelled  to  hold  many  discussions.  Alexander 
Campbell  debated  in  Cleveland  with  the  infidel 
Irad  Kelly.  Isaac  Errett  debated  with  the 
Spiritualist  Titfany,  at  Warren.  James  A.  Gar- 
field discussed  with  the  infidel  Denton,  at  Cha- 
grin Falls;  Marshall  Wilcox  with  the  Universal- 
ist  at  Medina;  A.  B.  Green  with  Methodists  in 
several  places,  and  one  disputant,  to  ridicule  him, 
got  off  the  couplet: 

"Ho,  every  son  and  daughter, 
Here  is  the  gospel  in  the  water." 

To  which  Bro.  Green  aptly  replied: 

' '  Ho,  every  son  and  wench, 
Here  is  the  gospel  on  the  bench." 

Jasper  Moss  met  all  kinds  of  opponents,  and 
they  called  him  the  "Rasping  Wasp"  instead 

43 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  "Jasper  Moss."  Opposition  has  largely- 
ceased,  and  denominationalism  is  loving  and  lull- 
ing the  disciples  into  quietude.  Perhaps  some 
have  lost  their  aggressive  spirit.  Their  attention 
is  called  to  the  disciples'  claim  that  they  hold 
the  only  possible  ground  of  Christian  unity  for 
which  Jesus  prayed,  and  this  was  originally  one 
of  the  chief  features  of  the  Restoration  move- 
ment. They  asked  believers  in  Christ  to  come 
out  of  Babylon  and  sectarianism.  While  many 
joined  in  with  the  disciples  in  the  Restoration 
movement,  they  were  only  -  asked  to  lay  aside 
their  human  appendages  and  give  full  obedience 
to  Jesus  Christ  in  baptism,  and  all  other  things, 
and  we  would  all  be  one,  as  Jesus  prayed.  They 
taught  that  the  people  were  not  to  come  to  them, 
but  to  lay  aside  all  humanisms  in  coming  to 
Christ,  and  then  we  would  all  be  one  people,  as 
Jesus  prayed. 

For  their  own  good  and  edification,  and  the 
progress  of  restoration,  the  early  churches  be- 
came Bible  schools  for  old  and  young.  The 
elders  of  the  churches  became  preachers  of  the 
gospel.  After  twenty  years  of  experience  and 
enthusiasm  for  original  Christianity,  aids  to  the 
movement  were  adopted.  In  1844  Bible  schools 
were  started,  and  the  D.  S.  Burnet  Library  of 
fifty  volumes  was  produced.  In  1850,  Hiram 
College  was  planted.  In  order  to  strengthen 
existing  churches  and  plant  new  ones,  the  Ohio 
Christian  Missionary  Society  was  started  in 
1852.  At  first  the  churches  were  in  rural  dis- 
tricts, and  they  builded  small  meeting-houses. 
Now  larger  houses  are  built,  with  Bible-school 
appliances.  City  churches  are  now  flourishing. 
In  1866  the  Christian  Standard  was  started  at 

44 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Cleveland,  and  is  now  the  largest  religions  paper 
published,  has  the  largest  circulation,  and  is  the 
most  influential  religious  paper  in  all  the  world. 

This  greatest  of  world  movements  since  the 
apostolic  age  could  not  be  confined  to  the  West- 
ern Reserve.  Tradition  says  that  when  Christ 
died  his  face  was  turned  to  the  west.  This 
Restoration  movement  looked  westward.  Other 
movements,  as  in  Kentucky,  amalgamated  with 
this  movement  and  joined  common  interests,  and 
the  plea  went  to  Indiana,  lUinois,  Missouri,  Cali- 
fornia and  all  the  world. 

In  1830,  Mormonism  was  rampant  on  the  Re-  * 
serve,  and  a  big  temple  was  builded  at  Kirtland, 
and  stands  there  to-day  as  a  monument  of  folly. 
Sidney  Rigdon,  an  eloquent  minister,  joined  .in 
with  them  and  is  supposed  to  have  had  a  hand 
in  preparing  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

In  1843,  Millerism  prevailed,  and  the  dis- 
ciples preached  on  the  coming  of  Christ.  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  commencing  1830,  published  the 
Millennial  Harbinger  for  forty  years.  Some  of 
the  early  elders  studied  the  Greek  language  in 
order  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  the  original 
tongue.  Alexander  Campbell  revised  and  pub- 
lished a  new  translation  of  the  New  Testament. 
He  entitled  it  "The  Living  Oracles."  This  was 
used  in  family  worship  and  often  in  the  pulpit. 
In  1851,  Spiritualism  carried  off  a  few  disciples. 
Music  was  a  great  power  in  carrying  on  the 
Restoration  movement.  The  Haydens  were  great 
singers.  John  Henry  played  on  many  different 
instruments,  and  was  a  martial  band-leader,  and 
gave  his  great  musical  ability  to  the  churches. 
So  the  forefathers  read  and  prayed  and  sang 
and  worked,  and  led  the  greatest  movement  in 

45 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  history  of  Christianity  since  the  apostolic 
age. 

The  minntes  of  the  Mahoning  Association 
were  veil  kept,  and  are  now  in  the  Hiram  Col- 
lege vaults. 

The  disciples  on  the  Western  Reserve  are 
gathered  into  100  congregations,  and  there  are 
104  active  and  retired  ministers. 


46 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


VI 

EVANGELISM  ON  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 

D    S.  DEAN,  a  pioneer,  writes: 

*  "Down  to  1827  the  Campbells  seem  to  have 
planted  only  two  churches — the  mother  church 
at  Brush  Eun,  and  her  eldest  daughter  at 
Wellsburg.  The  latter  had  fifty-six  members, 
the  former  probably  never  so  many.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  they  had  baptized  two  hundred  peo- 
ple between  1809  and  1827.  Their  fundamental 
plea  was  for  the  union  of  God's  people.  The 
nature  of  that  plea  determined  its  direction.  It 
was  not  addressed  primarily  to  the  unsaved,  but 
to  those  in  the  kingdom.  A  restored  and  re- 
united church  would  be  the  most  effective  evan- 
gelizing agency.  Here  and  there  an  existing 
church  had  laid  aside  its  human  creed  and  taken 
the  Scriptures  as  its  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice. 

"The  earliest  action  of  the  kind  in  Ohio,  so 
^  far  as  I  know,  was  that  of  the  Nelson-Hiram- 
Mantua  Church  in  Hiram,  Aug.  21,  1824.  But, 
,  down  to  1827,  we  look  in  vain  in  the  pages  of 
the  Christian  Baptist  for  any  indication  of  evan- 
gelism, either  in  editorials  or  reports  from  the 
field.  There  are  powerful  destructive  editorials, 
and  great  constructive  editorials  on  'The  Chris- 
tian Religion,'  'Christian  Union,'  'The  Work 

48 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Salvation  of  Men,' 
and  'The  Ancient  Order  of  Things.'  But  there 
is  nothing  to  indicate  that  Mr.  Campbell  had  ever 
thought  through  the  subject  of  New  Testament 
evangelism.  Their  work  was  not  primarily  evan- 
gelistic. It  is  an  interesting  question  what  would 
have  been  the  fortunes  of  the  movement  had 
not  other  men  of  a  different  type  arisen. 

''Walter  Scott  Supplements  Axexandeb 
Campbell. 

"Every  historical  crisis  draws  to  itself  or 
develops  men  of  varied  and  supplementary  gifts. 
Not  otherwise  was  it  with  the  Restoration  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Alexander  Campbell 
was  easily  the  master  mind,  the  creative  per- 
sonality of  the  movement,  and  it  heightens 
rather  than  dims  the  luster  of  his  fame  that 
the  cause  he  set  on  foot  had  power  to  draw  to 
itself  men  who,  in  certain  respects,  surpassed 
and  happily  supplemented  him.  Facile  princeps 
among  these  was  Walter  Scott.  A  Scotchman  by 
birth  and  education,  the  Restoration  found  him  at 
Pittsburgh.  From  their  first  meeting  in  1821  the 
two  men  became  a  veritable  Paul  and  Timothy. 
Both  were  of  lofty  intellectuality,  both  gifted 
with  rare  eloquence — Campbell  with  the  elo- 
quence of  sublime  reasoning;  Scott  with  the 
eloquence  of  imagination  and  human  sympathy. 
Scott  was  thus  fitted  to  become  the  Whitfield  of 
the  Restoration. 

"The  Mahoning  Assocl^tion  Appoints  Scott 
Its  Teaveling  Evangelist. 

"The  association  met  in  1827  at  Lisbon,  just 
off  the  Reserve.   Thirteen  of  its  sixteen  churches 

49 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


were  represented.  From  Youngstown,  Canfield 
and  Salem  went  my  grandfather,  Samuel  Hay- 
den,  and  my  uncles,  Myron  Sackett  and  Arthur 
Hayden.  My  father  was  appointed  a  messenger 
from  Canfield,  but  could  not  go.  From  Wells- 
burg  went  Alexander  Campbell.  Sidney  Rigdon 
and  Walter  Scott  were  visiting  ministers,  as  were 
several  from  the  Christian  Connection.  The 
epoch-making  action  of  the  association  was  taken 
in  response  to  a  memorial  sent  up  from  the 
Braceville  Church  asking  that  a  traveling  evan- 
gelist might  be  appointed.  All  the  ministers 
present  were  appointed  a  committee  to  select  a 
man  and  report.  The  result  was  the  appointment 
of  Scott.  The  action  was  unprecedented.  Several 
of  the  committee  were  not  Baptists.  Scott  him- 
self was  neither  a  Baptist,  nor  known  to  any  save 
Campbell;  yet  he  was  sent  forth  at  the  charges 
of  the  association.  Our  history  shows  that  this 
was  a  most  wise  selection. 

*'The  Fieud. 

**Ten  of  the  sixteen  churches  were  in  Western 
i  Eeserve  counties,  four  in  Columbiana  County, 
and  one  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  one  in 
western  Virginia.  It  was  a  region  of  farms  and 
scattered  villages.  Cleveland  had  less  than  five 
thousand  souls.  The  Reserve  pioneers  had  in- 
herited the  best  New  England  traditions;  they 
were  a  reading  people.  They  also  inherited  New 
England  Calvinism,  with  its  mystical  notions  of 
conversions.  But,  stimulated  as  the  people  were 
to  eager  inquiry  by  the  Christian  Baptist,  the 
Campbell  and  Walker  debate,  and  by  a  few  per- 
sonal visits  of  Mr,  Campbell,  the  field  was  ripe 
for  the  harvest  when  Scott  thrust  in  his  sickle. 

50 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


"Otje  Annus  Mihabilis. 

"Scott's  study  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of 
popular  methods  of  'getting  religion,'  had  led 
him  to  certain  definite  revolutionary  convictions 
and  practices.  Sweeping  aside  current  revival 
methods,  such  as  the  'mourners'  bench'  and 
'experience'  as  a  test  of  conversion,  he  boldly 
preached  that  faith  is  not  a  direct  gift  of  God, 
but  comes  by  hearing  the  Word;  conversion  is 
not  a  miracle  to  be  wrung  from  God  by  agonizing 
prayer;  heaven  does  not  need  to  be  stormed  to 
make  God  willing.  He  threw  on  the  sinner  the 
sole  responsibility  of  accepting  or  rejecting 
Christ.  Men  are  not  to  look  to  their  own  volatile 
emotions  as  the  evidence  of  pardon,  but  to  the 
sure  promise:  'He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved.'  To  bring  the  gospel  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  man  behind  the  plow,  he 
summarized  the  process  of  conversion  from  apos- 
tolic preaching  thus:  (1)  Faith,  (2)  repentance, 
(3)  baptism,  (4)  remission  of  sins,  (5)  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  His  five-finger  exercise  on  these 
items  was  as  famous  in  its  day  as  G.  W.  Muck- 
ley's  five-finger  formula  on  Church  Extension. 
To  such  moderns  as  have  never  witnessed  or 
experienced  the  mysticism  of  those  days,  Scott's 
generalization  may  seem  mechanical.  But  it  was 
effective.  To  hundreds  of  bewildered  souls  ago- 
nizing to  get  their  feet  on  the  rock,  it  broke  like 
the  light  of  heaven  on  the  way  of  salvation.  In 
the  hands  of  small  or  unspiritual  men  it  might 
degenerate  into  legalism;  but  with  Scott's  wealth 
of  Scriptural  knowledge  and  spiritual  insight  his 
message  was  sublime  in  its  very  simplicity.  Re- 
sults were  marvelous.    In  the  sixteen  churches 

51 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


there  had  been  only  thirty-four  conversions  the 
previous  year,  and  only  354  in  the  seven  years 
of  associational  history.  In  the  first  year  of 
Scott's  evangelism  there  were  nearly  one  thou- 
sand. The  like  had  never  been  known  anywhere 
on  the  Reserve.  It  was  truly  our  annus  mirabilis 
— the  beginning  of  evangelism  in  the  Restoration. 

"Momentum  of  the  Movement. 

**In  1828  the  association  met  at  Warren.  The 
news  T>f  the  continuous  Pentecost  spread  from 
fireside  to  fireside.  The  meeting  was  a  grand 
jubilee.  Scott  was  continued  as  evangelist  with 
William  Hayden,  a  young  minister,  as  assistant. 
The  second  year  was  even  more  fruitful.  Adam- 
son  Bentley,  the  most  influential  man  of  the  asso- 
ciation, and  all  the  younger  men  fell  into  line 
with  the  new-old  evangel.  Sowing  and  reaping 
continued  a  third  year  with  like  results.  It  was 
like  the  incoming  of  the  ocean  tide,  sweeping  the 
entire  association  into  the  current  of  restoration. 
In  1830,  Scott  left  the  Reserve,  but  the  good 
work  went  on.  Humbler  men  arose  of  limited 
education,  but  fine  gifts  and  utter  devotion;  men 
who,  following  the  plow,  like  Paul  his  tent-mak- 
ing, for  daily  bread,  yet  preached  more  sermons 
than  the  average  minister  then  or  now;  men  like 
William  Hayden,  who  toiled  to  clear  and  culti- 
vate his  farm,  yet  averaged  260  sermons  per 
year  for  thirty-five  years,  and  baptized  twelve 
hundred  with  his  own  hands.  A  host  of  such 
men  did  pioneer  service :  Adamson  Bentley,  John 
Henry  (the  'walking  Bible'),  A.  S.  Hayden, 
A.  B.  Green,  Harrison  Jones,  Aylette  Raines, 
J.  J.  Moss,  Cyrus  and  Marcus  Bosworth,  Jonas 
Hartzel,  Isaac  Errett,  J.  P.  Robison,  W.  A.  Beld- 

63 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


ing,  Calvin  Smith,  John  T.  Smith,  Edwin  Wake- 
field, Wesley  Lanphear,  Lathrop  Cooley,  and 
many  others  who  must  be  nameless  here.  There 
were  few  protracted  meetings.  Three  nights  and 
over  Sunday  often  resulted  in  twenty  or  thirty 
conversions.  These  preachers  expected  conver- 
sions at  every  service. 

''Then,  the  great  yearly  meetings  which  took 
the  place  of  the  annual  associations  won  hun- 
dreds to  the  cause.  People  came  by  the  thou- 
sand and  long  distances  to  hear  the  Campbells 
and  other  giants  of  the  Restoration.  Hospitality 
was  taxed  to  the  utmost.  At  a  yearly  meeting 
in  Canfield  in  1849  my  father  lodged  120  in  his 
farmhouse  and  barns,  and  lunched  double  that 
number  the  noon  the  meeting  broke  up.  The  his- 
tory of  Christian  evangelism  furnishes  no  finer 
chapters  than  those  which  record  the  beginnings 
of  the  Restoration  on  the  Western  Reserve.  But, 
in  a  sense,  the  strength  of  the  evangelism  was  its 
weakness.  In  the  first  generation  more  churches 
were  planted  than  could  be  cared  for.  Deaths, 
the  tide  of  westward  migration,  the  tremendous 
drain  from  country  to  city — above  all,  lack  of 
efficient  shepherding — ^were  fatal  to  many  con- 
gregations. Yet  the  momentum  of  the  movement 
has  never  been  lost.  Of  our  528  Ohio  churches, 
with  a  little  over  100,000  members,  53  churches, 
with  13,483  members,  are  within  the  four  counties 
of  the  old  Mahoning  Association.  The  eleven 
Reserve  counties  contain  100  churches,  with 
24,682  members. 

"Evangelism  to  Date. 

"An  extended  correspondence  warrants  these 
conclusions : 

54 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


During  tlie  past  generation  new  churches 
have  been  planted  and  old  ones  mightily  strength- 
ened by  evangelistic  meetings,  with  fruits  up  to 
two  hundred. 

"2.  During  the  past  year  (1915)  there  have 
been  many  meetings,  with  conversions  ranging 
from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred. 

**3.  Often  the  largest,  and  always  the  most 
permanent,  fruits  have  been  garnered  by  minis- 
ter-evangelists. 

*'4.  One  of  our  largest  city  churches  reports 
that,  during  the  present  ministry  of  eleven  years, 
1,075  of  the  1,125  accessions  have  come  at  the 
regular  weekly  ministrations.  Yet 

5.  There  is  no  marked  tendency  to  abandon 
special  evangelistic  meetings.  Nearly  all  the 
churches  continue  to  employ  them  effectively. 
Eeports  indicate  that  from  40  to  90  per  cent,  of 
conversions  thus  are  gained. 

''6.  There  is  dominant  sentiment  in  favor  of 
maintaining  the  evangelistic  note  at  every  ser- 
vice, supplemented  by  special  meetings  by  the 
minister  or  neighboring  ministers.  While  such 
meetings  are  not  the  exclusive  reliance,  they  are 
not  regarded  as  outworn  agencies.  The  cause 
bom  of  evangelism  seems  little  disposed  to  dis- 
own its  paternity. ' ' 


55 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


VII 

PIONEER  MINISTERS  OF  THE  WESTERN 
RESERVE 

DEO.  J.  M.  VANHORN  writes  as  foUows: 
Every  great  religious  movement  has 
brought  to  public  notoriety  some  great  and  noble 
men  who  manifested  the  highest  heroism  in  their 
devotion  to  truth,  and  in  loyalty  to  their  convic- 
tions. The  current  Restoration  is  no  exception 
to  this  rule.  We  think  of  our  forefathers  as 
giants  in  body  and  mind. 

''None  of  our  pioneers  were  required  to  seal 
their  testimony  with  their  blood;  but  those  who 
knew  them  and  have  written  of  them  have  little 
doubt  but  that  most  of  them  would  have  laid 
down  their  lives  for  the  truth  they  preached.  It 
has  required  as  great  heroism  to  live  for  the 
gospel  as  to  die  for  it.  It  has  been  said  'that 
the  true  martyr  spirit  has  been  displayed  by 
many  whose  blood  never  was  shed  as  really  as 
those  who  died  at  the  stake,  or  whose  life-current 
stained  the  sands  of  the  arena.'  I  feel  sure  that 
such  spirit  characterized  the  pioneers  of  our 
movement.  They  must,  therefore,  live  in  history 
and  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  for  the  good  of 
all  who  shall  follow  them. 

"There  is  nothing  that  can  help  life  like  life 
itself. 

57 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


"To  study  thonglitfully  some  rare  and  crystal 
character,  to  analyze  and  understand,  if  possible, 
the  principles  that  made  and  controlled  it,  is  the 
surest  way  to  have  the  low  and  ugly  self  trans- 
formed into  the  likeness  of  it. 

"For  this  reason  the  Bible  is  largely  the 
record  of  great  lives.  The  life  of  Jesus  is  more 
to  the  world  than  his  teachings.  'In  him  was  life, 
and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men. '  So  it  is  that  we 
do  well  to  perpetuate  the  lives  of  our  heroes,  who 
are  the  highest  reflection  of  the  light  of  Christ. 

"Among  the  pioneers  who  preached  on  the 
Western  Eeserve  must  be  named  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  ministers  known  to  the  broth- 
erhood of  the  disciples. 

"Alexander  Campbell,  "Walter  Scott,  A.  S. 
Hayden,  Isaac  Errett,  J.  H.  Jones,  Wesley  Lan- 
phear,  John  Henry,  Adamson  Bentley,  Jonas 
Hartzel,  WiUiam  Hayden,  Calvin  Smith,  J.  J. 
Moss,  Edwin  Wakefield,  Lathrop  Cooley,  T.  J. 
Newcomb,  M.  S.  Clapp,  W.  A.  Belding,  Leonard 
Southmayd,  J.  F.  Eowe,  W.  A.  Lillie.  These  men 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes :  first,  those  who 
were  highly  educated;  second,  those  who  were 
then  called  'self-made  men.' 

"No  one  can  read  our  literature,  in  which  we 
find  so  many  discourses  and  public  discussions, 
without  being  impressed  with  the  great  treasures 
of  learning  and  eloquence  which  those  of  the  first 
class  brought  to  the  Restoration  in  which  they 
were  the  great  leaders.  And  as  the  Western 
Reserve  was,  perhaps  more  than  any  other 
region,  the  theater  of  the  earliest  theological  con- 
flicts of  the  Restoration  movement,  nearly  all  the 
men  foremost  in  scholarship  were  seen  and  heard 
within  its  borders.    The  'yearly  meetings'  early 

58 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


established  brought  to  the  ears  and  hearts  of  the 
people  such  eloquent  and  able  speakers  as  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  D.  S.  Burnet,  Walter  Scott, 
Isaac  Errett,  0.  A.  Burgess,  J.  A.  Garfield,  H. 
W.  Everest,  and  A.  S.  and  Wm.  Hayden,  who 
had  tremendous  power  in  appealing  to  the  intel- 
lect and  reason,  and  convincing  the  judgment. 
But  along  with  these,  on  most  occasions,  were 
those  of  the  second  class,  who,  while  'self- 
made,'  were  very  able,  having  well  mastered  the 
teachings  of  the  scholars,  and,  with  native  genius 
and  passion  and  eloquence,  some  of  them  far  sur- 
passing the  most  learned — these  were  needed  to 
move  to  action  people  who  had  been  convinced, 
and  often  great  numbers  were  swept  into  the 
kingdom  by  the  persuasive  eloquence  and  touch- 
ing pathos  of  such  men  as  Harrison  Jones,  Wes- 
ley Lanphear,  Jonas  Hartzel,  and  others.  I  have 
heard  some  of  the  leaders,  of  a  later  day,  say 
that  sometimes  after  such  men  as  Campbell  and 
Errett  had  spoken  in  their  most  convincing  and 
powerful  appeals,  and  the  song  of  invitation  had 
been  sung,  not  one  responding,  that  Harrison 
Jones  would  be  called  on  to  address  the  multi- 
tude, and  in  response  to  his  towering,  overmas- 
tering eloquence  and  hortatory  pathos,  scores 
would  press  their  way  to  the  front  to  confess 
Christ. 

* '  Some  of  these  men  were  strong  in  contending 
for  *the  faith,'  and  were  constantly  in  discus- 
sion with  men  who  were  confident  that  the  new 
doctrine  which  they  preached  was  heresy.  They 
had  to  fight  for  their  position,  which  was  con- 
stantly being  challenged,  and  publicly  and  pri- 
vately were  often  in  debate.  The  pioneers  were 
all  fighters.    Garfield  once  said:  'The  first  chap- 

59 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


ter  in  our  history  was  one  of  war;  the  preachers 
were  fighters,  and  some  of  them  enjoyed  it  so 
much  that  they  would  fight  to  get  a  fight.'  I 
heard  him  say  this  in  a  convention  of  our  people 
in  Cleveland  many  years  ago.  None  of  them 
were  more  constantly  at  it  than  the  men  of  the 
second  class.  They  rarely  closed  a  public  meet- 
ing in  which  distinctive  views  had  been  expressed 
without  saying:  'If  any  one  has  any  objections 
to  what  has  been  presented,  let  him  speak.'  And 
so  it  was  that  often  a  single  discourse,  or  the 
conversion  of  some  one,  led  to  heated  controversy 
or  a  public  debate. 

"Of  course  it  was  apparent  to  men  of  the 
schools  that  the  pioneers  of  the  second  class  were 
not  classical  scholars,  and  sometimes  college  men, 
who  had  more  Latin  and  Greek  than  good  com- 
mon sense  or  caution,  and  not  knowing  the  nat- 
ural ability  and  polemic  sagacity  of  these  'self- 
made'  advocates  of  the  Eesto ration,  ventured 
on  dangerous  ground  when  challenging  their 
position. 

''Harrison  Jones  related  in  my  hearing  an 
amusing  incident  that  had  occurred  somewhere 
in  Ohio  in  a  rural  community,  where  lived  a 
bachelor  of  arts  whose  'smartness'  had  made 
him  quite  unpopular  in  the  community,  and  it 
was  known  that  he  often  quarreled  with  his  sis- 
ters, with  whom  he,  a  bachelor  in  fact  as  well  as 
in  arts,  made  his  home.  At  one  of  the  services 
in  which  Bro.  Jones  had  preached,  this  man  arose 
to  protest  against  the  doctrine  preached,  and 
cautioned  the  people  not  to  accept  it,  saying  that 
it  was  apparent  to  those  who  had  been  to  college 
that  the  preacher  was  without  education.  'You 
know,'  said  he,  'that  I  have  come  back  to  this 

60 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


community  after  years  of  stndy  of  the  language 
in  which  the  New  Testament  was  first  written, 
and  I  beg  to  warn  you  against  this  dangerous 
heresy.'  Such  is,  in  brief,  the  substance  of  his 
talk  as  I  remember  it. 

"Bro.  Jones,  a  master  in  the  art  of  ridicule  and 
withering  irony,  arose  to  reply,  and  as  no  argu- 
ment had  been  presented  to  answer,  he  could  only 
admit  the  tinith  of  the  gentleman's  statement — 
that  he  was  not  a  man  of  the  schools,  and  that 
doubtless  he  had  the  advantage  of  him  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  Greek,  and  that  in  that  com- 
munity it  was  understood  the  gentleman  was  a 
very  smart  man — smarter  than  many  of  his  less 
fortunate  neighbors — but  that  his  surprising 
smartness  was  never  more  manifest  than  when, 
a  few  evenings  before,  his  enraged  and  fleet- 
footed  sister  had  run  him  three  times  around  the 
house  with  a  pitchfork!  This  bold  statement  of 
fact  brought  forth  roars  of  laughter  and  rounds 
of  applause  from  the  audience,  the  people  actual- 
ly rejoicing  to  see  him  once  more  become  the 
sprinter  as  he  fled  from  the  place. 

**0n  another  occasion  the  conversion  of  Mrs. 
Julia  A.  King,  of  Warren,  0.,  mother  of  the  late 
Mrs.  W.  K.  Pendleton,  so  well  known  to  our 
brotherhood,  a  lady  of  culture  and  of  high  moral 
character,  led  to  a  public  discussion  between  a 
Eev.  Mr.  Waldo,  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
which  body  Mrs.  King  had  left  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian, and  Jonas  Hartzel.  Mr.  Waldo  had  the 
advantage  of  Mr.  Hartzel  in  education,  and  was 
skilled  in  debate.  Besides,  Mr.  Waldo  was  the 
challenging  party  and  proposed  the  question  for 
debate,  named  the  place,  rules  and  order  of  dis- 
cussion, all   of  which  were   accepted  without 

61 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


change  by  Mr.  Hartzel,  Thongh  the  length  of 
time — three  days — was  by  the  request  of  Mr. 
Waldo,  yet,  after  haK  that  time  was  consumed,  he 
was  so  manifestly  without  munitions  with  which 
to  prolong  the  fight  that  he  asked  the  privilege 
of  proposing  three  questions,  which  Mr.  Hartzel 
should  have  time  to  answer,  and  thus  end  the 
discussion.  To  this  Mr.  Hartzel  made  no  reply. 
His  opponent  appealed  to  the  audience,  but  the 
audience  refused  to  vote.  Hartzel  then  arose  and 
said  to  Mr.  Waldo  that  catechisms  are  for  the 
edification  of  children;  'please  refer  your  pro- 
posal to  the  board  of  moderators.'  The  board 
refused  to  change  the  order,  and  decided  that  the 
discussion  must  proceed  on  the  conditions  agreed 
upon,  when  Mr.  Waldo  immediately  threw  up  the 
sponge  and  retired  from  the  battle,  saying:  'I 
have  nothing  further  to  offer.'  Now,  such  occur- 
rences were  common  in  those  days,  and  illustrate 
that,  while  most  of  the  men  on  the  field  were  not 
so  strong  in  college  learning  as  their  opponents, 
yet  they  were  always  mightier  than  the  latter  be- 
cause of  the  strength  of  their  position  and  of  their 
ability  to  handle  the  'sword  of  the  Spirit.' 

"I  can  not  close  this  article  more  fittingly,  I 
think,  than  by  the  use  of  a  few  words  uttered  by 
the  Hon.  Champ  Clark,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  his  Centennial  address  at 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Referring  to  the  pioneers  and 
their  contemporaries,  he  said:  'First  in  the  field, 
they  set  the  compass  and  fixed  the  chart  by  which 
our  ship  has  sailed,  and  by  which  it  will  sail  till 
Gabriel's  trumpet  summons  the  quick  and  dead 
to  the  judgment-bar  of  God.  Their  names  live 
forevermore  and  their  works  do  follow  them.  If 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  on  high 

62 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


take  cognizance  of  the  affairs  of  this  world,  as  I 
have  no  doubt  they  do,  the  souls  of  these  master- 
ful pioneers  must  be  filled  with  amazement  and 
delight  as  they  contemplate  the  results  of  the 
first  hundred  years  of  the  movement  which  they 
started.'  " 


6 


63 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


VIII 

THE  DOCTRINE  THEN  AND  NOW 

TAMES  VERNON,  minister  of  the  gospel  at 
J  Painesville,  makes  the  following  record: 

"Alexander  Campbell  first  came  to  Warren 
(Trumbull  County)  in  1821.  Two  years  later 
the  Christian  Baptist  came,  and  was  widely  and 
carefully  read.  Three  years  later  (1826)  he 
came  again,  and  at  Canfield,  in  Trumbull  County, 
preached  his  great  sermon  on  'The  Progress 
of  Religious  Light  as  Shown  in  the  Patriarchal, 
Jewish  and  Christian  Dispensations.'  That 
sermon  put  Jesus  Christ  in  his  proper  place  as 
Prophet,  Priest  and  King.  In  that  sermon  Alex- 
ander Campbell  seems  to  stand  like  Jacques 
Balmat  on  the  evening  of  Aug.  9,  1786,  when  he 
stood  on  the  top  of  Mount  Blanc,  where  the  foot 
of  man  had  never  stood  before,  sixteen  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea.  With  this  difference,  how- 
ever: Balmat  stood  alone;  but  Alexander  Camp- 
bell took  thousands  up  with  him  and  let  them  see 
the  vision  which  had  long  lain  before  his  eyes. 
"Two  years  later  (1828)  he  came  again,  and. 
Tin  Warren,  preached  an  equally  important  ser- 
mon, on  'Knowledge,  Faith  and  Opinion  in 
Religion.'  This  sermon  had  special  reference 
to  the  case  of  Aylette  Raines  (who  was  in  the 
andience)  and  his  TJniversalist  opinions  and  phi- 

64 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


losophy,  but  the  principles  laid  down  in  it  apply 
to  all  questions  of  religious  opinion.  The  dis- 
ciples on  the  Western  Reserve  have  gotten  out 
from  under  the  popes  of  Rome  and  England  and 
Germany,  and  also  from  under  the  Presbyterian 
and  Baptist  popes.  Alexander  Campbell's  ser- 
mon logically  kills  off  every  pope  in  the  world — 
all  of  those  fellows  who  go  clinking  about  with 
keys  with  which  they  open  and  shut  the  kingdom 
of  GTod. 

''Those  two  sermons  became  the  keynote  for 
preaching.  That  teaching  leavened  the  Western 
Reserve.  I  may  give  a  single  illustration  out  of 
many.  In  May,  1915,  the  State  Congregational 
Association  met  in  Painesville,  and  their  two 
most  advertised  men  were  ex-President  Taft  and 
Peter  Ainslie,  of  Baltimore.  I  heard  the  name 
of  Jesus  glorified  above  every  name,  and  creeds 
and  sectarianism  repudiated  and  denounced  in  a 
way  which  might  well  have  thrilled  the  ashes  of 
Alexander  Campbell  in  his  grave.  It  is  grand  to 
live,  to  walk  the  soil  which  heroes  have  trodden, 
to  breathe  the  air  of  liberty  which  they  created, 
to  be  associated  with  their  children  and  grand- 
children, to  reap  the  harvest  which  they  sowed 
and  visit  the  graves  in  which  their  honored 
bodies  lie." 


65 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


OU)   MEETING-HOITSE,   FREDEEICKTOWN,  OHIO 

The  Cane  Eidge  meeting-house  in  Kentucky,  connected  with 
Barton  W.  Stone 's  labors,  is  of  historic  interest.  So  is  the  old 
meeting-house  in  Washington  County,  Pa.,  where  Thomas  Camp- 
bell preached.  The  cut  we  present  above  is  of  a  log  meeting- 
house at  Fredericktown,  Columbiana  Co.,  O.,  near  where  Walter 
Scott  held  his  first  Restoration  evangelistic  meeting  in  1827.  At 
Fredericktown,  a  small  country  community,  a  church  grew  up, 
and  in  1835  they  built  the  log  meeting-house  shown  in  the  cut. 
They  occupied  it  twenty  years,  and  then  buDt  a  house  on  the  hill. 
Isaac  Errett,  Alexander  Campbell  and  J.  Harrison  Jones,  at  dif- 
ferent times,  preached  in  the  old  log  meeting-house.  John  Jack- 
man,  an  elder  preacher,  gave  most  of  his  time  to  the  congregation 
for  many  years.  When  the  church  at  East  Liverpool  was  organ- 
ized, some  of  the  charter  members  came  from  the  Fredericktown 
Church.    A  little  country  church  is  far-reaching  in  its  influence. 


66 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


IX 

GREAT  LEADERS 

1799— William  Hatden— 1863 

"^ILLIAM  HAYDEN,  companion  of  Walter 
Scott  in  his  early  labors  as  evangelist  of 
the  Mahoning  Baptist  Association,  was  a  man  of 
rare  gifts :  with  a  good  physique,  strong  intellect, 
tender  emotional  nature,  clear  voice  and  fluent 
speech,  he  commanded  attention  at  once  and  held 
it  closely  both  in  sermon  and  song.  He  was  a 
logical  reasoner,  and  pressed  the  claims  of  the 
gospel  upon  thinking  men  with  convincing  power 
and  a  pathos  that  was  well-nigh  irresistible.  He 
used  to  say:  *'If  I  wish  to  convert  a  man,  I  never 
debate  with  him  in  public,  but  get  as  near  to  him 
as  I  can  and  kindly  talk  with  him  in  private  and 
bring  his  mind  into  personal  contact  with  the 
gospel  story  of  Jesus  and  His  divine  mission. 
But  if  a  man  is  bold  and  defiant,  like  Goliath,  and 
is  leading  people  astray,  then  I  will  floor  him  if 
I  can.'^  And  he  could  and  often  did,  for  he  was 
quick  in  action  and  always  had  his  cause  and 
argument  well  in  hand.  He  was  especially  strong 
in  the  internal  evidences,  and  in  miracles  and 
prophecy. 

He  went  to  a  village  on  the  Western  Eeserve 
to  preach  on  a  Lord's  Day,  and  was  entertained 
at  night  at  the  home  of  a  good  sister,  whose  hus- 

67 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


band  was  an  infidel,  but  very  hospitable.  In  the 
early  evening  he  introduced  the  subject  of  the 
claims  of  the  Bible  upon  the  rational  confidence 
of  men,  and  drew  from  his  kind  host  a  statement 
of  his  objections  to  Christianity.  As  he  presented 
them  one  at  a  time,  Hayden,  with  utmost  frank- 
ness and  fairness,  discussed  them  and  refuted 
them  so  clearly  that  the  objector  surrendered 
them  one  after  another,  regardless  of  the  fleeting 
hours  of  the  night.  As  the  morning  dawn  ap- 
peared in  the  east,  he  said:  "Have  you  any 
further  objections  to  urge?"  "Only  one  more," 
was  the  reply.  It  was  stated  and  completely 
answered,  and  his  candid  opponent  surrendered. 
Quickly  he  asked:  "What,  then,  will  you  do?" 
As  promptly  the  response  came:  "I  will  confess 
Christ  and  follow  Him."  And  he  did,  and  was  a 
faithful  Christian  all  the  rest  of  his  long  life  and 
blessed  the  world  with  an  excellent  family. 

On  another  occasion,  in  a  community  where 
skepticism  was  prevalent  and  boastful,  Wm.  Hay- 
den preached  a  sermon  on  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
— publicly  performed,  of  great  number,  variety 
and  beneficence,  and  wrought  immediately,  in- 
stantaneously and  without  failure  in  a  single 
instance :  so  evidencing  the  divine  power  and 
prerogative  of  our  Lord.  It  flashed  upon  him 
that  skeptics  claimed  that  miracles  of  a  similar 
character  were  wrought  by  mesmerism  and  other 
powers.  He  turned  suddenly  toward  the  objectors 
and  said:  "What  do  men  say  to  all  of  this?  What 
do  they  do?  They  say,  'Put  a  man  to  sleep  and 
take  his  leg  off  and  he  doesn't  know  it.'  Humph! 
Take  a  man's  leg  off!  That's  nothing.  Put  a 
man's  leg  on  once.  Try  that."  His  hearers 
caught  the  point  and  the  scoffers  were  put  to 

68 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


silence  by  the  forceful  reply,  William  Hayden 
once  said  that  his  brother  Sutton,  with  his  sweet 
voice,  sang  people  into  heaven,  but  he  had  kept 
many  infidels  from  going  to  hell. 

He  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania,  and  came  to 
Ohio  when  four  years  old.  In  1828  he  was  set 
apart  to  preach  the  gospel.  During  his  ministry 
of  thirty-five  years  he  traveled  ninety  thousand 
miles,  sixty  thousand  of  which  were  on  horse- 
back, a  distance  of  over  three  times  round  the 
world.  He  baptized  1,207,  and  preached  over 
nine  thousand  sermons — that  is,  287  sermons  a 
year — and  once  he  preached  fifty  sermons  in  the 
month  of  November.  His  industry  was  prover- 
bial. He  was  incessant  in  preaching,  teaching 
and  in  conversation — in  public  and  private.  He 
created  openings,  occupied  them,  and  when  others 
could  be  found  to  hold  the  position,  he  broke  new 
ground.  He  was  the  first  man  and  the  chief 
operator  in  raising  up  the  churches  in  Ravenna, 
Aurora,  Shalersville,  Akron,  Russell  and  several 
other  places.  He  did  all  this  work  largely  at  his 
own  expense.  To  perpetuate  and  carry  on  the 
work,  he  promoted  the  founding  of  the  Western 
Reserve  Eclectic  Institute  and  the  Ohio  Christian 
Missionary  Society.  His  converts  were  thorough 
and  decided  like  himself.  It  is  said  that  he  could, 
from  memory,  almost  reproduce  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

1813— Calvin  Smith— 1859 

Calvin  Smith  was  bom  Oct.  30,  1813,  in  Ver- 
non, 0.,  and  died  at  his  home  farm  in  Johnstown, 
near  Cortland,  Jan.  13,  1859.  In  1837  he  became 
a  Christian  under  the  preaching  of  John  Henry. 
He  soon  became  a  preaching  elder,  as  did  many 

69 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


others  in  those  early  days.  He  could  declare  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  with  power.  An 
old  brother  declared  that  he  could  listen  with 
delight  as  often  as  he  would  deliver  his  sermon 
on  "Man:  1.  As  He  Was.  2.  As  He  Is.  3.  As  He 
Shall  Be."  From  1844  to  1848  he  visited  many 
churches  in  northeast  Ohio.  On  Nov.  30,  1848, 
he  commenced  his  first  protracted  meeting  four 
miles  west  of  Cortland.  The  meeting  was  held  in 
a  schoolhouse  where  there  was  no  organized  con- 
gregation. Stormy  weather  reduced  the  audience 
to  eight  persons.  On  the  sixth  evening  eighteen 
were  present  and  there  were  four  confessions. 
The  meeting  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a 
church  of  thirty-five  members.  The  church  still 
exists,  with  a  good  membership,  at  Weirs  Corners 
in  Trumbull  County,  and  they  have  a  well- 
arranged  house  of  worship.  In  1852  he  held  a 
meeting  at  North  Jackson,  and  Joseph  King,  then 
a  young  man  teaching  school,  was  baptized.  Bro. 
King  became  a  pastor  of  the  church  at  Allegheny, 
Pa.,  now  Pittsburgh,  for  twenty-one  years.  Smith 
made  extensive  trips  eastward,  to  New  England 
and  westward  beyond  the  Mississippi.  He  planted 
several  churches  in  northwestern  Ohio,  as  at  El- 
more and  Kenton.  It  is  said  that  often  he  would 
secure  a  shovel,  go  to  a  near-by  stream,  construct 
a  dam,  and,  when  asked  what  his  object  was, 
would  say  that  he  was  going  to  hold  a  meeting 
and  expected  to  baptize  converts.  Bro.  Smith's 
work  as  an  evangelist  was  of  ten  years'  duration. 
It  was  brief,  but  brilliant  and  fruitful.  In  that 
ten  years  he  had  1,536  converts  and  organized 
sixteen  churches.  At  that  stage  of  our  history, 
eighty-five  years  ago,  but  few  had  surpassed 
these  figures  as  evangelists. 

70 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


1831— Claek  Beaden— 1915 

Clark  Braden  was  bom  Aug.  8,  1831,  in  Gus- 
tavus,  Trumbull  Co.,  0.  He  was  immersed  by 
Calvin  Smith,  Feb.  29,  1855,  in  Rome,  Ashtabula 
Co.,  0.  He  was  educated  at  the  Western  Reserve 
Eclectic  Institute  at  Hiram.  He  was  a  preacher 
nearly  sixty  years.  He  has  been  president  of 
colleges  in  Illinois  and  editor  of  the  Herald  of 
Truth.  Some  of  the  last  months  of  his  life  were 
spent  with  his  brother  at  Ravenna,  O.  He 
delivered  more  than  three  thousand  lectures, 
speaking  in  nearly  every  State  in  the  United 
States  and  Provinces  of  Canada.  He  held  130 
debates.  He  debated  with  infidels,  and  held 
eighteen  debates  with  Mormons  and  with  relig- 
ionists. He  debated  the  action,  subject  and 
design  of  baptism;  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
human  creeds;  justification  by  faith  only;  and 
church  organization,  soul-sleeping,  kingdom-com- 
ism,  Seventh-dayism  and  Universalism. 

During  the  last  twenty  years  every  prominent 
champion  of  infidelity  has  backed  out  of  debating 
with  Clark  Braden.  These  statements  were  made 
at  the  veterans'  camp-fire  meeting  in  Pittsburgh 
in  1909.  He  said  also :  "I  do  rather  avoid  giving 
a  challenge,  but  I  have  been  selected  by  brethren : 
they  have  called  upon  me  and  I  have  responded 
and  done  my  best  in  discussions.  Another  thing, 
when  you  get  so  very  goo4  and  so  very  refined 
and  cultured  that  you  are  unwilling  to  debate, 
you  will  know  more  than  God  Almighty,  you  are 
better  than  Jesus  Christ,  and  purer  than  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  last  six  weeks  of  the  Saviour's 
life  was  one  strong  debate,  and  he  did  some 
pretty  plain  talking  too.    Just  so  long  as  there 

71 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


is  error  in  the  world,  just  so  long  as  truth  has 
to  be  defended,  there  will  be  discussion.  Every 
reform  was  born  in  debate,  rocked  in  the  cradle 
of  discussion  and  grew  strong  in  the  battle  for 
that  which  is  right.  And  when  you  become  so 
cultured  that  you  won't  debate  anything  any 
time,  you  will  be  a  saint  among  saints,  and  then 
leave  the  result  of  it  to  God." 

After  this  stormy,  strenuous  life,  I,"  said 
Braden,  ' '  sum  it  all  up  in  this :  that  the  supreme 
work  of  the  followers  of  Christ  is  to  learn  the 
Christ  teaching,  live  the  Christ  life,  and  grow  in 
the  Christ  character  in  this  life,  and  in  the  eter- 
nal life  we  shall  be  like  Him  and  see  Him  as 
He  is." 

1788 — Alexandeb  Campbellt — 1866 

It  was  in  June,  1831 — four  years  after  the 
commencement  of  our  Restoration  movement  in 
Ohio — that  a  great  meeting  was  held  "in  the 
maple  woods  under  the  June  sun."  The  great 
annual  meetings  had  taken  the  place  of  the 
Mahoning  Association  meetings.  Alexander 
Campbell  was  present  at  the  meeting  in  Aurora. 
The  following  account  of  the  meeting  was  written 
by  A.  Gr.  Riddle,  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Cleveland.  Darwin  Atwater  and  other  disciples 
were  characters  in  his  book,  "The  Portrait:  A 
Romance  of  the  Cuyahoga  Valley." 

* '  The  woods  were  full  of  horses  and  carriages, 
and  the  hundreds  already  there  were  rapidly 
swelled  to  many  thousands;  all  of  one  race — the 
Yankee;  all  of  one  calling — the  farmer;  hardy, 
shrewd,  sunburned,  cool,  thoughtful  and  intelli- 
gent. The  disciples  were,  from  the  first,  emanci- 
pated from  the  Puritan  slavery  of  the  Sabbath; 

72 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


and,  although,  grave,  thoughtful  and  serious,  as 
they  were  on  this  Sunday  morning,  it  was  from 
the  gravity  and  seriousness  of  the  occasion,  and 
nttle  from  the  day  itself — an  assemblage  Paul 
would  have  been  glad  to  preach  to. 

''At  the  hour  of  eleven,  Mr.  Campbell  and  his 
party  took  their  places  on  the  stand,  and  after 
a  short,  simple,  preliminary  service,  conducted 
by  another,  he  came  forward  to  the  front.  He 
was  then  about  forty  years  old,  above  the  aver- 
age height,  of  singular  dignity  of  form  and 
simple  grace  of  manner.  His  was  a  splendid 
head,  borne  well  back,  with  a  bold,  strong  fore- 
head, from  which  his  fine  hair  was  turned  back; 
a  strong,  full,  expressive  eye,  aquiline  nose,  fine 
mouth  and  prominent  chin.  He  was  a  perfect 
master  of  himself,  a  perfect  master  of  his  theme, 
and,  from  the  moment  he  stood  in  its  presence,  a 
perfect  master  of  his  immense  audience. 

"At  a  glance  he  took  the  measure  and  level 
of  the  average  mind  before  him — a  Scotchman's 
estimate  of  the  Yankee — and  began  at  the  level; 
and  as  he  rose  from  it,  he  took  the  assemble.d 
host  with  him.  In  nothing  was  he  like  Rigdon: 
calm,  clear,  strong,  logical,  yet  perfectly  simple. 
Men  felt  themselves  lifted  and  carried,  and  won- 
dered at  the  ease  and  apparent  want  of  effort 
with  which  it  was  done. 

Nothing  could  be  more  transparent  than  his 
statement  of  his  subject;  nothing  franker  than 
his  admission  of  its  difficulties;  nothing  more 
direct  than  his  enumeration  of  the  means  he  must 
employ,  and  the  conclusion  he  must  reach.  With 
great  intellectual  resources,  and  great  acquisi- 
tions, athlete  and  gladiator  as  he  was,  he  was  a 
logician  by  instinct  and  habit  of  mind,  and  took 

73 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


a  pleasure  in  magnifying,  to  tlie  utmost,  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  positions,  so  that,  when  the  latter 
were  finally  maintained,  the  mind  was  satisfied 
with  the  result.  His  language  was  copious,  his 
style  nervous,  and  the  characteristic  of  his  mind 
was  direct,  manly,  sustained  vigor ;  and  under  its 
play  he  evolved  a  warmth  which  kindled  to  the 
fervor  of  sustained  eloquence,  and  which,  in  the 
judgment  of  many,  is  the  only  true  eloquence. 

After  nearly  two  hours,  his  natural  and  logical 
conclusion  was  the  old  Pentecostal  mandate  of 
Simon  Peter,  and  a  strong,  manly  and  tender  call 
of  men  to  obedience.  There  was  no  appeal  to 
passion,  no  effort  at  pathos,  no  figures  of  rhet- 
oric, but  a  warm,  kindling,  heated,  glowing,  manly 
argument,  silencing  the  will,  captivating  the  judg- 
ment and  satisfying  reason :  and  the  cold,  shrewd, 
thinking,  calculating  Yankee  liked  it. 

"As  the  preacher  closed  and  stood  for  a 
response,  no  answering  movement  came  from  any 
part  of  the  crowd.  Men  were  running  it  over  and 
thinking.  Unhesitatingly  the  orator  stepped  down 
from  the  platform  upon  the  ground,  and,  moving 
forward  in  the  little  open  space,  began  in  a  more 
fervid  and  impassioned  strain.  He  caught  the 
mind  at  the  highest  point  of  its  attainment,  and, 
grasping  it,  shook  it  with  a  half-indignation  at 
its  calculating  hesitation,  and,  carrying  it  with 
a  mighty  sweep  to  a  still  higher  level,  seemed  to 
pour  round  it  a  diviner  and  more  radiant  light; 
then,  with  a  little  tremor  in  his  voice,  he  implored 
it  to  hesitate  no  longer.  "When  he  closed,  low 
murmurs  broke  and  ran  through  the  awed  crowd ; 
men  and  women  from  all  parts  of  the  vast  assem- 
blage, with  streaming  eyes,  came  forward.  Young 
men  who  had  climbed  into  the  small  trees  from 

74 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


curiosity,  came  down  from  conviction,  and  went 
forward  to  baptism;  and  the  brothers  and  sisters 
set  up  a  glad  hymn,  sang  with  tremulous  voices, 
clasping  hands  amid  happy  tears.  Thus,  in  that 
far-off  time,  in  the  maple  woods,  under  the  June 
sun,  the  gospel  was  preached  and  received." 

1831— H.  W.  EvEEESi^l900 

H.  W.  Everest  was  born  in  North  Hudson, 
N.  Y.  At  sixteen  he  was  teacher  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town.  Coming  to  Ohio,  he 
took  membership  with  the  church  at  Rome,  Ash- 
tabula County,  then  at  Russell,  Geauga  County, 
then  came  to  Hiram  in  1852.  He  graduated  at 
Oberlin  College  in  1861.  In  1862  he  became 
principal  of  the  Eclectic  Institute.  Then,  later, 
he  became  president  and  professor  in  several 
Western  colleges.  When  he  departed  this  life  in 
1900,  he  was  dean  of  the  Bible  Department  of 
Drake  University.  He  was  the  author  of  "The 
Divine  Demonstration,"  and  "Science  and  Peda- 
gogy of  Ethics."  These  books  show  him  as  the 
clear,  critical  scholar.  One  can  judge  of  his 
character  and  ability  from  an  article  he  wrote 
on  "Spurious  Liberality,"  which  contains  whole- 
some admonitions.  "In  our  hatred  of  sectarian- 
ism and  narrowness  there  is  a  strong  temptation 
to  be  disloyal  to  the  truth.  We  love  the  approval 
of  good  and  learned  men;  it  is  unpleasant  to  find 
ourselves  in  conflict  with  them,  and  it  is  vastly 
easier  and  more  popular  to  admit  and  approve. 
Then  we  are  accounted  good  fellows  and  aU  is 
peaceful.  One  who  is  always  hunting  out  errors, 
and  always  antagonizing  something  or  somebody, 
is  not  an  agreeable  associate.  Such  a  person 
often  makes  religion  seem  very  uncertain  and 

75 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


irreligious:  in  avoiding  this  extreme  we  are 
liable  to  fall  into  the  opposite  one. 

* '  But  any  degree  of  liberality  which  leads  us  to 
be  disloyal  to  the  truth  is  spurious.  We  may  well 
admit  that  tho'se  who  entertain  other  religious 
views  are  as  honest,  as  learned  and  as  pious  as 
we  are;  that  they  have  the  same  access  to  the 
Bible  and  to  the  means  of  correct  interpretation 
that  we  have;  and  that  they  should  follow  their 
honest  convictions  as  to  its  teachings  just  as  we 
should,  no  matter  how  much  we  may  differ  from 
them.  But  nothing  can  justify  us  in  being  dis- 
loyal to  the  truth  and  disloyal  to  our  Master,  who 
is  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life. 

*'In  perusing  our  religious  periodicals — and 
more  frequently  now  than  in  former  years — I 
find  what  seems  to  me  a  kind  of  spurious  liber- 
ality. It  is  often  like  what  we  find  among  the 
broad-gauge  religionists,  who  seem  willing  to 
give  up,  or  hold  in  doubt,  nearly  every  vital  doc- 
trine of  Christianity — the  validity  of  prophecy, 
the  fact  of  miracles,  the  real  divinity  of  our 
Lord,  the  inspiration  and  reliability  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  possibility  of  a  place  formerly  called 
hell,  the  reality  of  regeneration,  the  necessity  of 
church  membership  and  the  decisions  of  a  final 
judgment-day.  Not  that  any  of  our  'scribes' 
or  'Pharisees'  would  go  so  far,  but  they  seem 
to  be  traveling  in  this  direction;  undoubtedly 
there  is  danger  on  the  other  side.  We  may 
stand  so  perpendicular  as  to  lean  backward.  We 
may  magnify  differences,  and  widen  the  chasms 
which  separate  the  churches.  An  extreme  and 
indefensible  position  is  a  source  of  weakness.  Of 
course,  editors,  and  other  writers  of  influence, 
need  to  be  cautious.   But  the  best  and  the  safest 

76 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


way  is  this :  That  we  look  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left,  but  try  to  be  right;  try  to  'speak  the 
truth  in  love.'  This  is  not  only  the  honest 
course,  but  also  the  best  policy,  for  a  half-way 
position  is  partly  in  the  enemies'  country,  and  is 
easily  assailed.  If  a  few  writers  are  representa- 
tive of  our  brotherhood,  we  seem  to  be  weakening 
on  several  subjects  once  thought  to  be  firmly 
established. 

"Of  late  there  seems  to  be  a  desire  to  find 
Scriptural  reasons  for  the  reception  of  the  un- 
baptized  to  membership  in  our  churches.  Now, 
much  as  we  love  many  of  these  people,  we  must 
not  swerve  from  the  terms  of  the  gospel. 

"What  the  apostles  bound  on  earth  is  bound 
in  heaven.  By  what  authority  can  we  modify 
these  conditions?  Who  has  authority  from  the 
King  to  do  so?  If  tempted  to  receive  such  per- 
sons, this  would  be  my  trouble.  He  himseK  said, 
'All  authority  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  given 
unto  me ; '  and  he  has  not  delegated  such  authority 
to  any  man.  Besides,  what  good  would  be  accom- 
plished by  so  doing  ?  Not  to  the  church  receiving 
such,  since  it  would  break  down  the  argument  for 
their  complete  submission  to  Christ.  Not  to 
them,  since  it  would  be  a  partial  mitigation  of 
their  disobedience,  and  would  not  in  the  least  add 
to  their  enjoyment  of  our  religious  services :  they 
now  join  us  in  everything,  even  in  the  Lord's 
Supper:  only  this,  we  could  not  number  them  as 
members  and  could  not  expect  them  to  pay  as 
others  dol" 

1831 — James  Abeam  Gabpield— 1881 

James  Abram  Garfield,  twentieth  President  of 
the  United  States,  was  bom  in  Orange,  Cuyahoga 

78 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Co.,  0.,  Nov.  19,  1831.  He  was  the  youngest  child 
of  Abram  Garfield  and  Eliza  BaUou,  his  wife, 
both  of  excellent  New  England  stock,  but,  like 
their  pioneer  compeers,  of  humble  circumstances. 
In  1833,  Abram  Garfield  died,  leaving  his  young 
widow,  with  four  small  children,  in  a  rude  log 
house  on  a  small  farm  in  the  forest.  The  battle 
with  fortune  was  a  hard  one;  but  Mrs.  Garfield, 
by  dint  of  courage,  faith  and  hard  labor,  kept 
her  children  together,  and  trained  them  for 
honorable  manhood  and  womanhood.  James  was 
early  inured  to  severe  toil  and  close  economy. 
His  education  began  at  the  usual  age  in  the  dis- 
trict school,  where  he  early  gave  evidence  of 
unusual  abilities.  Later  he  attended  a  neighbor- 
ing academy,  and  also  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
district  schools.  Li  1851  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Western  Reserve  Eclectic  Institute,  now 
Hiram  College,  Hiram,  O.,  and  soon  became  a 
tutor  in  that  school.  In  1854  he  entered  Williams 
College,  and  graduated  from  that  institution  with 
high  honors  two  years  later.  He  now  returned 
to  Hiram  as  a  teacher,  and  in  1857  became  prin- 
cipal of  the  Institute,  which  ofi&ce  he  held  until 
1861.  As  a  teacher  and  school  administrator  he 
was  very  successful,  awakening  great  enthusiasm 
in  his  scholars  for  study,  attaching  them  thor- 
oughly to  himself,  and  inspiring  them  with  noble 
purposes.  In  these  years  he  also  combined 
preaching  with  his  work  as  an  educator. 

Mr.  Garfield's  interest  in  politics  dated  from 
1856.  The  aims  of  the  Republican  party  com- 
manded his  hearty  assent,  and  he  identified  him- 
self with  that  organization  on  his  graduation 
from  college.  In  ^859  he  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  Ohio,  where  he  took  a  very  prominent 

6  79 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


part  in  legislation.  On  the  breaking  ont  of  tlie 
Civil  War,  his  whole  nature  was  enlisted  in  the 
Union  cause ;  and  in  September,  1861,  he  entered 
the  army  as  colonel  of  the  Forty-second  Regi- 
ment of  Ohio  Volunteers.  In  the  winter  of 
1861-2,  he  commanded  an  army  in  the  Sandy 
Valley,  Kentucky;  afterwards,  he  served  in  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  under  General  Buell,  and  was 
present  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh;  and  later  he  was 
appointed  chief  of  staff  to  General  Rosencrans, 
commanding  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Having  served  as  a  soldier  with  great  credit 
for  more  than  two  years,  he  entered  the  lower 
House  of  Congress,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Nineteenth  Ohio  Congressional  District,  in  De- 
cember, 1863.  To  this  body  he  was  elected  nine 
times  by  the  same  constituency.  From  the  first 
he  took  high  rank  in  the  House,  and  finally  be- 
came its  best  known  member.  His  name  will 
ever  be  associated  with  the  most  prominent  meas- 
ures of  legislation  in  the  period  of  1863-80;  such 
as  the  army,  civil  service,  reconstruction,  the 
currency,  the  tariff,  and  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments.  In  January,  1880,  he  was  elected  to 
the  National  Senate,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Forty- 
seventh  Congress. 

Honors  now  multiplied  upon  him.  On  June 
8,  1880,  the  National  Republican  Convention, 
at  Chicago,  nominated  him  as  the  party  candidate 
for  President;  and  after  an  exceedingly  active 
campaign  he  was  elected  to  that  high  office,  re- 
ceiving 214  electoral  votes  to  135  votes  cast  for 
General  Hancock,  the  Democratic  candidate.  On 
March  4, 1881,  he  was  duly  inaugurated  President 
of  the  United  States. 

80 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Few  men  have  ascended  to  the  national  Chief 
Magistrate's  chair  attended  by  larger  popular 
expectations.  President  Garfield's  career  had 
inspired  the  country  with  unusual  hopes.  But 
hardly  had  he  organized  his  administration, 
when,  July  2,  as  he  was  leaving  Washington  for 
a  visit  to  New  England,  he  was  shot  by  the 
assassin  Guiteau.  After  undergoing  the  greatest 
sufferings,  he  died,  ■  September  19,  at  Elberon, 
N.  J.,  and  was  buried  the  26th  of  the  same  month 
in  Lake  View  Cemetery,  Cleveland,  0.  The  eighty 
days  that  elapsed  between  the  fatal  shot  and  his 
death  were  marked  by  world-wide  tokens  of 
respect,  affection  and  sorrow.  For  weeks  the 
civilized  world  waited  anxiously  for  the  latest 
word  from  his  bedside ;  multitudes  of  his  country- 
men stood  with  uncovered  heads  as  his  funeral 
car  passed  from  Washington  to  Cleveland;  while 
whole  nations  followed  him,  in  sympathy,  to  the 
grave.  The  monument  to  his  memory  cost 
$150,000. 

Religiously,  he  was  baptized  by  W.  A.  Lilly 
before  he  went  to  Hiram.  He  retained  his  mem- 
bership in  the  Hiram  Church  to  the  close  of  his 
life.  He  adorned  his  profession.  As  a  minister 
of  the  gospel  he  was  an  able  and  Scriptural 
preacher.  In  all  his  travels  as  a  public  man  he 
was  sure  to  find  a  place  to  worship  with  the 
Lord's  disciples  on  the  Lord's  Day.  What  an 
inspiration  it  was  to  see  him  in  the  great  wor- 
shiping assembly,  with  face  lifted  heavenward 
and  to  hear  him  sing: 

"Ho,  reapers  of  life's  harvest, 
Why  stand  with  rusted  blade, 
Until  the  night  draws  round  thee, 
And  day  begins  to  fadeT 
81 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Why  stand  ye  idle,  waiting 

For  reapers  more  to  cornel 
The  golden  morn  is  passing; 

Why  sit  ye  idle,  dumb?" 

Garfield's  statement  as  to  the  religions  prin- 
ciples of  the  disciples: 

"1.  We  call  ourselves  Christians,  or  disciples 
of  Christ. 

"2.  We  believe  in  God  the  Father. 

*'3.  We  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God,  and  our  Saviour.  We 
regard  the  divinity  of  Christ  as  the  fundamental 
truth  of  the  Christian  system. 

**4.  We  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  both  as  to 
His  agency  in  conversion  and  as  an  indwelling  in 
the  heart  of  the  Christian. 

"5.  We  accept  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures  as  the  inspired  word  of  God. 

'*6.  We  believe  in  the  future  punishment  of 
the  wicked  and  the  future  reward  of  the  right- 
eous. 

"7.  We  believe  that  the  Deity  is  a  prayer- 
hearing  and  a  prayer-answering  God. 

"8.  We  observe  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  on  the  Lord's  Day.  To  this  table  we 
neither  invite  nor  debar;  we  say  it  is  the  Lord's 
Supper  for  all  the  Lord's  children. 

'*9.  We  plead  for  the  union  of  God's  people 
on  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone. 

**10.  The  Christ  is  our  only  creed. 

"11.  We  maintain  that  all  the  ordinances 
should  be  observed  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles." 


82 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


X 

HIRAM  COLLEGE 

p*  M.  GREEN  has  written  a  comprehensive  and 
*  correct  history  of  Hiram  College.  In  a  work 
like  this  only  a  few  historic  facts  can  be  pre- 
_  sented.  The  Eclectic  Institute,  ont  of  which  the 
college  grew,  was  founded  in  1850,  and  the  col- 
lege began  in  1867.  The  college  has  been  served 
ably  by  men  of  high  ideals,  both  educational  and 
personal,  and  of  powerful  personalities.  This 
has  given  to  Hiram  an  individuality  among  Ohio 
colleges  that  is  well  merited  for  altruistic  motives 
and  for  genuineness  in  moral  standards.  Her 
effort  has  been  directed  toward  the  development 
of  sterling  manhood  and  womanhood,  together 
with  well-trained  scholarship.  This  twofold  em- 
phasis upon  character  and  upon  scholarship  con- 
stitutes her  mission .  as  a  high-grade  Christian 
college. 

Hiram  has  granted  degrees  to  970  persons: 
717  men,  253  women.  Forty-two  are  deceased. 
Seventy  per  cent,  of  the  living  alumni  on  gradua- 
tion gave  themselves  to  altruistic  service :  preach- 
ing, teaching,  nursing,  and  social  settlement  and 
various  religious  vocations. 

Hiram  people,  in  the  world  of  letters,  are 
worthy  of  honorable  mention.  From  the  earlier 
period  may  be  mentioned  James  A.  Garfield  and 
B.  A.  Hinsdale.    A  partial  list  of  those  well 

84 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


known  at  present  includes  Jessie  Brown  Pounds, 
whose  hymns  are  sung  the  world  around;  Harold 
BeU  Wright,  author  of  a  number  of  "best 
sellers";  Wm.  Allen  Knight,  author  of  "Song  of 
Our  Syrian  Guest";  and  Nicholas  Vachel  Lind- 
say, coming  into  recognition  as  one  of  the  first- 
rank  poets  of  to-day. 

Counting  alumni  and  former  students,  Hiram 
has  given  eighty  workers  to  the  foreign-mission 
field. 

The  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions 
has  headquarters  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  All  the 
workers  there  were  Hiram  students.  Two  of  the 
professors  in  the  college  were  former  professors 
in  Hiram  College.  In  Cleveland  in  a  single  year 
Hiram  men  filled  the  following  responsible  posi- 
tions: President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce; 
vice-president  of  the  same  body;  superintendent 
of  schools;  head  of  the  Department  of  Public 
Welfare;  city  engineer;  head  of  the  Civic  Em- 
ployment Bureau ;  founder  and  head  of  the  Hiram 
House,  a  social  settlement  of  nation-wide  reputa- 
tion. Besides  these,  Hiram  men  occupied  other 
leading  positions  in  law,  banking  and  other  busi- 
ness concerns  of  importance.  Many  pastors, 
doctors,  attorneys  and  other  business  and  profes- 
sional men  of  the  city  received  their  early 
training  in  Hiram. 

These  facts  show  the  value  of  the  small  col- 
lege in  our  American  system  of  education,  and 
the  worth  of  Hiram  College  as  a  training-school 
for  professional  and  business  men. 

It  costs  about  $45,000  a  year  to  carry  on  the 
college  teaching  staff,  general  administration  and 
plant  maintenance.  The  income  from  students, 
endowment  fund  and  personal  annual  gifts  is 

85 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Dr.  S.  E.  Shepherd  B.  A.  Hinsdale 

HIRAM  COIiliEGE  PRESIDENTS 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


depended  on  to  meet  the  expense.  Efforts  are 
being  made  to  increase  the  endowment  and 
attendance.  F.  A.  Henry  is  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  M.  L.  Bates  is  president 
of  the  college  Faculty. 

Attendance  at  the  college  costs  the  average 
man  from  $300  to  $400  a  year,  and  the  woman's 
expenditure  is  from  $250  to  $350.  Many  work 
their  way  with  much  less  cash  outlay. 

There  are  about  thirteen  thousand  volumes 
in  the  library.  Hiram  maintains  good  ath- 
letics in  football,  basket-ball,  baseball  and  track 
teams,  with  a  competent  coach  in  charge.  The 
students  have  four  strong  literary  societies :  the 
Delphic  and  the  Hesperian  for  men,  and  the 
Olive  Branch  and  the  Alethean  for  women.  The 
athletic  and  literary  activities  lend  enthusiasm  to 
the  student  life.  Valuable  religious  influences 
are  found  in  the  work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  organizations.  The  students  publish 
a  biweekly  paper,  the  Hiram  College  Advance, 
and  the  college  annual  known  as  **The  Spider- 
web.  ' ' 

Hiram  College  was  distinctly  Christian  in  its 
origin.  It  was  a  child  of  the  churches,  at  a  time 
when  the  churches  were  composed  of  plain 
farmer  folk  and  pioneer  preachers.  The  purpose 
of  its  founders  is  seen  in  the  motto  on  the  college 
seal:  "Let  there  be  light."  A  clause  in  the  char- 
ter, providing  for  instruction  in  moral  science  as 
based  on  the  facts  and  precepts  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  points  to  the  supreme  source  of  that 
light  as  they  conceived  it.  Hiram  has,  through 
strong  teachers,  developed  a  great  company  of 
workers  for  human  betterment  and  imbued  them 
with  a  spirit  of  servitude  for  men. 

87 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Edwin  L.  Hall  Geo.  A.  Peckham  Hao-lan  M.  Page 

MISS  AliMEDA  BOOTH  OF  EAELY  DAYS 
AND  rACUliTY  or  1900 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Hiram  was  peculiarly  fortunate  in  its  early 
teachers.  A.  S.  Hayden,  Thomas  Munnell,  Nor- 
man Dunsbee,  Miss  Almeda  Booth,  James  A. 
Garfield,  H.  W.  Everest,  J.  M.  Atwater  and 
B.  A.  Hinsdale  were  truly  great  teachers.  They 
drew  around  them  pupils  of  kindred  mind  and 
still  further  imbued  them  with  a  like  spirit.  That 
heritage  has  never  been  lost  from  the  school.  It 
has  rather  deepened  with  the  passing  years,  both 
in  the  Faculty  and  in  the  student  body.  That 
spirit  may  be  defined  as  a  spirit  of  sound  scholar- 
ship, a  spirit  of  democracy,  a  spirit  of  self- 
reliance,  and  a  spirit  of  service. 

Hiram  College  has  more  than  fulfilled  the 
purpose  of  its  founders.  It  has  a  real  and  abid- 
ing worth  for  the  state  no  less  than  for  the 
church.    Its  good  work  continues. 

1837— B.  A.  HmsDALE— 1900 

B.  A.  Hinsdale  was  born  in  Wadsworth,  O., 
March  31,  1837,  and  passed  from  earth  in  Atlan- 
ta, Ga.,  Nov.  29,  1900.  He  was  of  New  England 
parentage.  He  had  an  irresistible  desire  for 
scholarship.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the 
school  at  Hiram,  and  for  thirty  years  was  with 
the  school  as  student  and  professor.  He  was  a 
close  and  accurate  scholar.  He  became  a  man  of 
extensive  information.  He  was  elected  president 
of  Hiram  College  in  1870.  In  early  manhood  he 
made  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  and  became 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  preached  at  Hiram, 
Pai  nesville,  Cleveland,  and  often  spoke  at  the 
great  annual  meetings  in  northern  Ohio.  He 
lectured,  preached,  edited,  talked  and  wrote 
books.  In  1882  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  schools  in  Cleveland.    In  1888  he  was  called 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


Hugh  McDiarmid 


Marcia  Henry.  A.B.  George  H.  Colton  Charles  T.  Paul 


C.  O.  Reynard  Vernon  Stauffer 

MEMBERS  or  FACTn:ir5r  of  htbam  college, 

1900  AND  LATEE 
90 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


to  the  chair  of  the  Science  and  Art  of  Teaching 
at  Michigan  University.  Some  of  his  published 
works  are  "The  Genuineness  and  Authenticity  of 
the  Gospels,"  "The  Jewish  Christian  Church," 
"Ecclesiastical  Traditions,"  "Schools  and 
Studies,"  "President  Garfield  and  Education," 
"Garfield's  Life  and  Works,"  "Civic  Govern- 
ment of  Ohio,"  "Life  of  Horace  Mann."  A 
monograph  on  "The  Training  of  Teachers," 
which  he  wrote,  was  awarded  a  medal  at  the 
Paris  Exposition.  He  was  a  kind  of  encyclopedia 
on  the  events  of  the  early  history  of  Ohio.  He 
received  academic  honors  from  Williams  College, 
Bethany  College,  Hiram  College  and  Ohio  State 
University.  He  was  in  sympathy  with  young 
men,  their  struggles,  difficulties,  aims  and 
triumphs.  There  are  few  whose  lives  are  so 
rounded  out  and  so  fruitful. 

1847— E.  V.  ZoLLAEs— 1915 

Ely  Vaughn  Zollars  was  born  Sept.  19,  1847, 
and  well  bom.  His  parents  were  healthy  in  body 
and  soul,  and  the  modest  home — best  of  all  places 
— taught  the  fundamental  facts  of  life.  And  the 
hills  of  Washington  County,  in  our  own  beautiful 
Ohio,  were  a  good  place  for  quiet  growth,  and 
for  looking  through  nature  up  to  nature's  God. 

He  showed  an  early  ability  to  learn;  and, 
while  his  immediate  surroundings  were  rural,  he 
found  good  teachers  and  made  a  path  to  good 
schools.  When  he  was  fairly  in  his  teens  he  was 
a  fair  scholar  and  well  able  to  teach. 

In  1865  he  found  one  who  met  the  desires  of 
his  heart,  and  one  upon  whom  he  always  leaned, 
and  never  in  vain;  and  they  were  married.  For 
three  or  four  years  he  settled  on  a  farm.  Per- 

91 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


haps  at  first  lie  intended  to  stay.  It  did  him  no 
harm.  There  was  that  within  him  which  pushed 
on  to  other  work. 

So,  in  1871,  he  entered  Bethany  College;  and 
in  1876  he  graduated,  sharing  the  honors  of  his 
class.  Those  were  good  days  at  Bethany,  when 
Pendleton  and  Loos  and  Dolbear  and  Harding 
were  in  their  prime,  and  when  many  of  our  later 
strong  men  were  students.  He  had  now  begun 
to  find  his  place,  and  had  grasped  a  work  which 
he  never  could  lay  down.  For  two  years  he  lin- 
gered at  Bethany,  tutoring  and  helping  in  finan- 
cial work;  and  then  for  eight  years  he  exercised 
himself,  doing  independent  teaching  in  Kentucky. 
He  did  good  work,  but  did  not  prosper  financially. 
A  call  of  Providence  in  1885  took  him  to  Spring- 
field, Ills.,  as  minister  of  the  church.  And  it  was 
here,  where  he  was  doing  a  good  work,  that 
Hiram  found  him  in  1888,  and  made  him  presi- 
dent of  the  coUege. 

Hiram  was  a  good  place  for  Zollars  to  go.  It 
had  good  foundations  in  a  remarkably  good  his- 
tory, and  old  students  clung  to  their  memories. 
Results  proved  that  the  choice  of  Zollars  for 
president  was  a  good  one. 

The  college  soon  began  to  feel  the  energizing 
influence  of  the  new  president.  He  taught  with 
vigor.  He  visited  churches,  soliciting  temporary 
endowment,  and  awakening  a  real  interest  in  the 
college.  He  planned  for  new  buildings,  so  that 
students  might  be  well  housed.  All  this  took 
work,  hard  work;  to  many  it  would  have  been 
impossible  work.  The  college  has  always  grad- 
uated students  of  ability,  but  many  classes  were 
painfuUy  smaU.  But  from  the  advent  of  Presi- 
dent Zollars,  even  to  the  present,  the  classes  in 

92 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


number  and  ability  have  done  honor  to  the 
college. 

In  1902  a  call  from  Texas  Christian  Univer- 
sity took  him  to  Waco.  He  felt  that  he  would 
find  a  larger  field  in  Texas.  As  time  has  proved, 
'conditions  were  not  favorable  to  building  up  at 
Waco ;  but  he  did  earnest  work.  His  most  marked 
work,  and  the  one  that  will  probably  tell  longest 
to  his  memory,  was  the  founding  of  Phillips  Uni- 
versity at  Enid,  Okla.  From  the  inception  almost 
to  the  day  of  his  death  he  may  be  said  to  have 
guided  the  institution.  Any  one  who  knows  any- 
thing of  the  building  of  great  schools,  especially 
when  one  must  largely  gather  the  material  for 
building,  will  understand  the  seriousness  of  this 
effort.  The  task  was  herculean.  But  he  left  a 
well-equipped  institution  in  good  running  order, 
and  already  turning  out  young  men  and  women 
who  are  doing  most  valuable  work  for  the  world. 

His  was  a  remarkably  steadfast  life.  He  did 
not  vary  in  his  great  purpose ;  his  heart  was  set 
to  build  up  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  world  has 
felt,  and  long  will  feel,  the  momentum  of  his  life. 
I  doubt  if  he  could  anywhere  have  found  happier 
fellowship  than  he  found  in  Hiram.  When  he 
came  back  to  rest  with  his  daughter  in  Warren, 
we  hoped  that  he  would  come  to  Hiram  again, 
and  we  could  renew,  in  a  measure,  the  fellowship 
of  other  years.  That  was  not  to  be.  But  what 
a  world  of  blessed  associations  we  shall  have  to 
renew,  and  enlarge,  and  never  complete,  in  the 
land  that  lies  beyond  I 

1817— Abram  Teachotjt— 1912 

At  the  veterans'  camp-fire  in  the  Centennial 
of  discinles  of  Christ  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  in  1909. 

93 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Charles  Louis  Loos  spoke  highly  of  the  public 
teachers  of  the  gospel,  but  said,  "We  must  not 
forget  the  men  of  the  rank  and  file."  Abram 
Teachout,  a  veteran,  aged  ninety-three,  then 
spoke  in  a  clear,  distinct  voice:  have  heard 
for  the  last  eighty-five  years,  'Once  a  man  and 
twice  a  child.'  Now,  if  this  is  the  second  child- 
hood of  man  that  my  eyes  are  fixed  upon  here 
to-day,  it  is  the  most  intelligent  and  the  grandest 
and  the  best  lot  of  children  I  ever  saw  together. 
You  are  here,  my  friends,  to  testify  to  your  faith 
in  the  cause  of  the  Christian  warfare,  in  the 
cause  of  Christ.  This  world  would  be  in  dark- 
ness if  Christianity  were  stricken  out  of  it.  I 
lived  for  nearly  forty  years  in  that  kind  of  dark- 
ness. My  mind  was  taken  up  with  some  of  the 
pleasures  that  young  people  have;  but  since  I 
made  the  confession  of  faith  and  obeyed  the  gos- 
pel and  came  into  the  life  of  Christianity,  I  have 
enjoyed  more  in  this  life  than  I  ever  did  before. 
So  I  say  to  you,  my  friends,  let  us  do  all  we  can 
for  the  cause  of  Christianity,  for  it  is  truly  the 
light  of  the  world,  and  the  blessings  of  life  are 
drawn  from  real,  genuine,  true  and  faithful 
Christianity.    That  is  my  testimony. 

''But  we  must  consider  that  I  speak  as  a 
business  man;  I  am  not  a  preacher.  We  must 
consider  that  to  carry  on  Christianity,  as  a  part 
of  our  life  and  a  part  of  our  business,  takes 
money,  just  as  it  does  to  pay  your  grocer  for  the 
food  you  enjoy.  Now,  my  friends,  I  frequently 
hear  it  said,  and  I  presume  you  do,  that  it  is  a 
sacrifice — they  call  it  a  sacrifice — to  contribute 
one  hundred  dollars,  or  five  hundred  dollars,  or  a 
thousand  dollars,  to  the  missionary  cause.  It  is 
no  sacrifice,  my  friends,  if  we  can  do  it,  if  we 

7  95 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


I—  G.  Batman 


TRUSTEES  OF  HTRAM  COLLEGE— Conttoned 
96 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


have  the  means;  it  should  not  be  considered  a 
sacrifice ;  it  should  be  considered  as  doing  a  great 
work  for  the  cause  of  Christianity. 

"  'We  should  live 
For  the  good  that  we  can  do, 

For  the  wrongs  we  can  right, 
For  the  blessings  we  can  bestow, 

For  the  evils  we  can  fight, 
For  the  needs  we  can  relieve. 
For  the  joy  we  may  receive. 

"  'We  should  live 
For  brave  and  noble  deeds. 

With  a  name  and  purpose  high 
Work  the  work  which  to  heaven  leads, 

And  rest  when  we  come  to  die; 
Live  to  sweeten  sorrow's  cup 
And  to  lift  the  fallen  up. 

"  'We  should  live 
And  learn  to  be  ourselves, 
If  we  may  scatter  what  we  know. 
Live  to  help  the  fallen  to  arise. 
To  lift  them  above  the  sadness  of  their  way, 
Give  strength  unto  the  weak. 
And  be  a  help  to  those  that  seek.' 

** Finally,  my  friends: 

"  'We  should  live  for  one  another; 

We  should  bear  that  sacred  love. 
Through  life's  journey,  for  each  other, 

That  kind  the  spirits  feel  above. 
It  is  the  Saviour's  requirement; 

It  is  the  gospel's  great  command; 
We  should  seek  its  fulfillment, 

If  we  would  win  the  better  land. 
Where  our  loved  ones  are  gone  before  us. 
Waiting  for  us  over  the  dark  and  troubled  deep.'  " 

Added  to  this  list  of  veteran  private  workers 
may  be  mentioned  David  Ayers,  of  Tedrow ;  Har- 
man  Austin,  of  Warren;  Wm.  Williams,  of 
Columbus;  W.  S.  Dickinson,  of  Cincinnati;  Asa 
Shuler,  of  Hamilton;  Albert  AHen,  of  Akron; 
Daniel  Mercer,  of  Bowling  Green;  A.  C.  Fenner, 

97 


TELESCOPE,  HTBAM  COLIiEGE,  PEESENTED 
BY  LATHBOP  COOLEY 


98 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


of  Dayton ;  Kobert  W.  Nelson,  of  Bellaire ;  Daniel 
Kennedy,  of  Uhrichsville ;  J.  B.  Parker,  of  New 
Holland. 

Latheop  Cooley 

Abram  Teachout  builded  and  presented  to 
Hiram  College  a  library  and  observatory  build- 
ing. Lathrop  Cooley  furnished  for  the  building 
a  magnificent  telescope,  and,  on  presenting  it, 
■spoke  in  part  as  follows:  ''I  once  stood  in  the 
most  historic  place  in  England,  Westminster 
Abbey,  where  were  deposited  the  ashes  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  present  and  past 
generations — distinguished  statesmen,  orators, 
reformers  and  monarchs.  The  building  erected 
here  by  Mr.  Teachout  is  more  than  Westminster 
Abbey.  That  building  contains  the  dust  and  ashes 
of  great  men.  Into  this  building  the  young  of 
the  present  and  coming  generations  will  enter 
and  be  introduced  to  the  great  historians  of  the 
age  and  past  ages.  Here  men  wall  meet  for  the 
first  time  a  Newton  and  a  Locke;  will  meet  the 
grand  men  who  have  written  in  the  English 
tongue,  and  the  writings  of  the  most  celebrated 
authors  of  other  nations  translated  into  our  own 
language. 

''This  instrument  is  erected  here  so  that  you 
may  climb  the  steep  of  heaven  and  walk  among 
the  stars;  that  you  may  have  a  Jacob's  ladder 
upon  which  thought,  like  angels  bright  and  pure, 
may  ascend  and  descend.  The  work  which  you 
are  to  enjoy  has  been  done  for  one  purpose :  and 
that  purpose  is  to  make  better  men  and  better 
women.  There  is  great  demand  to-day  for  manly 
nien  and  womanly  women.  The  dangers  of  the 
times  are  many,  the  possibilities  are  great.  There 

99 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


100 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


is  something  more  needed  than  mere  learning. 
Learning  must  have  a  tone — it  must  have  an 
odor,  it  must  be  fragrant  with  moral  principles 
or  it  is  dangerous.  In  the  development  of  char- 
acter there  is  something  more  than  mathematics 
and  multiplication  tables  to  attain  the  highest 
end  and  accomplish  the  greatest  good.  There  is 
a  divine  element  in  the  human  heart  which  longs 
to  get  nearer  the  divine,  and  when  this  is  en- 
larged and  beautified  it  makes  the  finest  type  of 
a  human  being.  While  you  may  look  through 
into  the  upper  deep,  and  discover  new  worlds, 
and  reach  out — as  the  constructor  of  this  tele- 
scope said  to  me — it  will  reveal  stars  that 
Herschel  never  saw;  you  may  weigh  planets  as 
in  the  balance,  you  may  measure  their  magnitude, 
you  may  discover  new  comets;  but,  after  all,  the 
greatest  and  most  valuable  of  all  will  be  at  the 
small  end  of  the  telescope.  A  human  being  puri- 
fied and  adorned  by  the  principles  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  grandest  work  under  the 
sun.  The  possibilities  within  a  human  being  are 
grander  than  any  star  which  burns  in  the  upper 
deep.  What  is  grander  than  a  man!  And  what 
is  grander  than  a  man  whose  spirit  is  developed, 
purified  and  softened  by  the  gospel  of  Christ? 

"There  are  two  great  volumes  to  study: 
Nature  and  the  Bible.  In  nature  the  character 
of  the  Divine  is  impressed  everywhere.  'The 
undevout  astronomer  is  mad.'  But  this  is  not 
the  highest  revelation.  The  second  volume,  the 
Bible,  reveals  God's  love  and  mercy  and  in  the 
person  of  a  lowly  Nazarene.  Here  is  a  new 
development  of  the  Divine  in  order  to  make  a 
character.  These  principles  are  vitalized  in  a 
human  life  by  one  who  took  on  our  nature  and 

101 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


who  said,  *I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life.' 
These  principles  of  love,  mercy  and  obedience 
will  save  the  present  and  coming  generations  if 
received  and  practiced. 

"I  once  stood  by  the  tomb  of  Wesley  in  Lon- 
don, and  I  said,  'Here  is  the  son  of  a  woman 
meek  and  lowly,  who,  when  she  rocked  the  cradle 
containing  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  rocked  two 
continents.'  Soon  after  the  reign  of  the  Com- 
mune I  also  stood  by  the  tomb  of  Voltaire  in 
Paris,  and  went  out  on  the  streets  of  Paris  and 
saw  the  ruins  of  the  finest  palaces  in  the  world 
— the  fruit  of  the  teachings  of  Voltaire.  These 
men  lived  in  the  same  age,  were  born  about  the 
same  time.  It  is  said  by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them.  One  was  mellowed  by  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  other  was  void  of  it.  No 
other  lesson  ever  came  to  me  with  such  force  as 
that  I  learned  at  the  tomb  of  Voltaire  in  Paris 
and  Wesley  in  London.  And  now,  my  young 
friends,  I  say  to  you  what  I  want  you  to  write 
down  and  remember,  that  a  greater  object  than 
any  you  can  see  in  the  upper  deep  is  at  the  small 
end  of  the  telescope." 


102 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XI 

A  SERMON  AND  A  LIFE 

HTHIS  article  shows  the  strength  of  the  pioneer 
teaching  on  the  Reserve,  and  was  produced 
by  S.  E.  Shepherd,  the  first  president  of  Hiram 
College : 

Acts  11 : 26 :  "  The  disciples  were  called 
Christians  first  in  Antioch."  It  is  evident  that 
none  were  then  called  Christians  except  "the 
disciples."  The  persons  who  believed  John's 
preaching  and  were  baptized  were  called  John's 
disciples :  and  those  who  believed  Jesus  and  his 
apostles,  and  were  baptized,  were  called  his  dis- 
ciples. All  his  disciples  were  baptized  into 
Christ."  These,  and  these  only,  ''were  called 
Christians."  If  a  person  can  be  a  Christian  and 
not  put  on  Christ,  then  he  can  be  a  Christian 
and  not  be  baptized.  The  disciples  were  baptized 
"into  Christ."  If  a  person  can  be  a  Christian 
without  being  baptized,  then  he  can  be  a  Chris- 
tian without  being  in  Christ.  "I£  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature.  Old  things  are 
passed  away,  and  all  things  are  become  new." 
If  any  man  can  be  a  Christian  and  not  be  in 
Christ,  then  he  can  be  a  new  creature  and  not  be 
in  Christ.  Then,  old  things  can  pass  away  and 
all  things  can  become  new  to  a  man  who  is  not  in 
Christ;  and  the  statement  of  the  apostle  that  "if 

103 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


104 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature,"  is 
as  true  of  persons  out  of  Christ  as  of  those  who 
are  in  him. 

Moreover,  baptism  was  enjoined  "for  the 
remission  of  sins."  Now,  if  any  one  can  be  a 
Christian  and  not  be  baptized,  he  can  be  a  Chris- 
tian without  remission  of  sins.  If  any  can  be 
Christians  and  not  be  in  Christ,  and  not  put  on 
Christ,  and  not  receive  remission  of  sins,  then 
all  the  well  disposed  among  all  ''the  Christian 
denominations"  are  Christians,  and  of  the  ''one 
body."  But  in  the  apostles'  times  no  unbaptized 
persons  were  included  in  that  "one  body" — the 
church  of  Christ;  for  Paul  said  that  they  were 
"all  baptized  into  one  body." 

But  there  is  one  argument  more.  If  a  person 
can  be  a  Christian  and  not  be  baptized,  then  he 
can  be  a  Christian  and  reject  the  counsel  of  God 
against  himself ;  for  it  is  said  that  "the  Pharisees 
and  lawyers  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  against 
themselves,  not  being  baptized." 

Summary:  If  a  person  can  be  a  Christian 
and  be  out  of  Christ,  and  not  put  on  Christ,  and 
not  be  in  the  body  of  Christ,  and  not  receive  re- 
mission of  sins,  and  reject  the  counsel  of  God 
against  himself,  then  it  is  an  easy  and  a  useless 
thing  to  be  one,  and  "Christian  union"  is  any- 
thing but  desirable. 

But  it  is  asked,  "What  if  one  thinks  he  has 
been  baptized,  when  he  has  not?"  There  is  but 
one  answer  to  that  question;  namely,  "He  is  mis- 
taken." ''But  what  if  he  really  thinks  he  has?" 
Then  he  is  really  mistaken.  "But  suppose  he 
honestly  believes  it?"  Then  he  is  honestly  mis- 
taken. .Now  let  us  ask  a  question.  These  ques- 
tions are  founded  on  the  belief  that  a  real,  honest 

105 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


mistake  is  the  only  cause  of  this  person's  not 
being  baptized.  Our  question,  then,  is  this:  *'Is 
a  real,  honest  mistake  equal  to  baptism?"  If  it 
is,  then  a  person  comes  into  Christ,  into  the  one 
body,  puts  on  Christ,  receives  remission  of  sins, 
and  rejects  the  counsel  of  God  against  himself, 
and  is  a  good  Christian  through  a  real,  honest 
mistake.  If  this  be  so,  why  is  not  a  real,  honest 
mistake  just  as  good  as  the  truth? 

Persons  sometimes  give  themselves  more 
credit  for  honesty,  in  matters  of  opinion  and 
belief,  than  they  are  entitled  to.  When  the  ques- 
tion is  raised,  "What  is  baptism?"  and  a  person 
proceeds  to  answer  it  in  his  own  mind,  with  the 
desire  that  it  may  appear  that  baptism  is  sprink- 
ling, he  is  not  honest  to  himself;  that  is,  he  is 
not  just  to  himself.  When  he  undertakes  to  hold 
the  balance  of  truth,  he  throws  the  weight  of  his 
desire  into  one  scale  before  he  weighs  the  evi- 
dence of  the  case.  The  equipoise  is  thus  de- 
stroyed. A  just  and  impartial  decision  can  not 
be  made  in  this  case.  The  love  of  truth  must 
overcome  that  desire,  in  order  to  an  honest 
decision. 

The  evidence  is  clear  that  baptism,  as  taught 
in  the  New  Testament,  was  performed  (not  ad- 
ministered) "in  water,"  "in  the  river  Jordan," 
and  "in  Enon,  near  Salim,  because  there  was 
much  water  there."  That  the  baptizer  and  the 
person  to  be  baptized,  after  they  "came  to  a  cer- 
tain water,  both  went  down  into  the  water"  to 
perform  the  act ;  and  that  the  party  baptized  was 
"buried  in  baptism" — all  of  this  is  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  that  baptism  is  a  sprinkling. 
No  person,  with  this  evidence  in  his  mind,  can 
honestly  believe  that  baptism  is  sprinkling  or 

106 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


that  sprinkling  is  baptism.  It  is  entirely  out  of 
the  number  of  possibilities.  The  laws  of  the 
human  mind  and  the  laws  of  evidence  both  forbid 
it.  No  amount  of  kindness,  of  piety,  of  gener- 
osity and  benevolence  can  alter  the  case.  Kind- 
ness, piety,  generosity  and  benevolence  are  found 
in  connection  with  paganism.  They  are  not  pecu- 
liar to  "Judaism"  nor  to  "Christianity,"  nor 
can  they  make  paganism  acceptable  to  God,  or 
justify  us  in  foi*ming  a  union  with  such  wor- 
shipers or  admitting  them  into  the  "one  body." 

The  very  persons  who  reject  the  evidence 
above  quoted,  will  believe  in  sprinkling  babies 
because  Jesus  said,  "Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  to  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  to  such  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  belongs."  They  can  see  bap- 
tism, or,  rather,  sprinkling,  when  it  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  passage  they  quote,  nor  in  the  con- 
text. And  though  this  has  been  sho^vn  to  them  a 
hundred  times,  they  still  persist  in  the  mischievous 
and  wicked  practice  of  performing  a  rite  "in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  which  none  of  these  divine 
beings  ever  commanded  I  They  refer  to  house- 
hold baptisms,  in  which  it  does  not  appear  that 
there  was  a  single  baby,  and  where  it  is  said  they 
all  rejoiced  and  believed  in  God,  to  prove  that 
babies  should  be  sprinkled! 

They  contend  for  and  practice  this  rite  with- 
out a  single  precept  or  an  example  of  it  in  all 
the  Scriptures;  and  at  the  same  time  oppose 
immersion,  and  ^vi\l  not  practice  it  except  to  obtain 
a  member  for  their  church  whom  they  can  not 
get  without  immersion!  All  the  evidence  in 
"baptize  in  water,"  "in  the  river  Jordan,"  "in 
Enon,  where  there  was  much  water,"  going 

107 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


"down  into  the  water,"  coming  np  ''out  of  the 
water,"  and  burying  "in  baptism,"  all  goes  for 
nothing  with  them!  However  abundant  honesty 
may  be  with  them  in  other  matters,  in  this  it  is 
entirely  wanting.  It  is  extinguished  by  the  desire 
to  have  it  otherwise. 

Edmund  Bttbritt  WAKEriEU) 

Isaac  Errett  used  to  tell  with  enthusiasm  of 
the  one  occasion  when  his  entire  congregation 
responded  to  the  invitation.  It  was  in  northern 
Ohio,  near  Bloomfield.  There  were  sufficient 
reasons  for  the  presence  of  a  small  audience,  but, 
nothing  daunted,  Bro.  Errett  read  a  chapter  from 
the  Bible,  sang  a  hymn,  prayed,  sang  another 
hymn,  then  preached  one  of  his  powerful  dis- 
courses and  extended  the  gospel  invitation.  The 
whole  congregation  responded.  He  was  Edwin 
Wakefield.  Being  already  a  man  of  pronounced 
piety  and  warm  sympathy,  Bro.  Errett  had  little 
difficulty  to  persuade  Bro.  Wakefield  to  preach. 
On  Bro.  Errett 's  removal  to  Warren,  Bro.  Wake- 
field took  charge  of  the  little  congregation  at 
Bloomfield  and  became  pastor  of  that  and  adja- 
cent townships.  Few  men  have  ever  been  held  in 
higher  esteem  by  their  neighbors  or  more  rever- 
ently loved  by  their  own  family  than  was  the 
gracious  Christian  elder  in  the  church  of  the 
Lord. 

Into  his  family,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1846, 
a  son  was  bom.  This  son  proceeded,  as  promptly 
as  nature  permitted,  to  discover  the  swimming- 
holes  in  the  creek  which  cut  through  the  farm; 
to  pursue  mercilessly,  with  twine  and  bent-pin 
hooks,  the  bass  and  suckers  which  the  stream 
contained,  and  in  such  countless  ways  as  are 

108 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


opened  to  buoyant  boyhood,  lie  comforted  his 
father's  heart,  even  while  he  ruffled  the  paternal 
nerves. 

The  farm  was  over  in  Green,  Trumbull  Co., 
0.  When  the  war  clouds  began  to  darken  the 
horizon,  the  family  moved  back  from  Bloomfield 
to  the  farm.  A  teacher  named  Green  had  a  select 
school  in  the  neighborhood;  young  Edmund  Bur- 
ritt  Wakefield  made  a  habit  of  attending.  The 
teaching  was  excellent;  the  learning  was  as  good 
as  could  be  expected.  But,  all  things  considered, 
young  Wakefield  succeeded  in  getting  something 
really  good  out  of  his  school  life.  Two  of  the 
teachers  became  captains  in  the  army.  At  eigh- 
teen young  Wakefield  could  restrain  himself  no 
longer.  He  enlisted  and  was  sent  quickly  to  the 
South,  where  his  regiment  was  attached  to  Cox's 
division  of  the  Twenty-third  Army  Corps.  With 
the  end  of  the  Nashville  campaign  this  corps  was 
shipped  through  North  Carolina  to  Cape  Fear, 
where  it  took  part  in  the  operations  immediately 
preceding  the  surrender  of  Johnson's  army.  It 
has  taken  a  lifetime  to  show  how  ineffaceable 
were  the  impressions  which  the  young  man  of 
nineteen  gleaned  from  his  experience.  As  men 
ripen  in  faith  towards  God  and  in  tenderness 
toward  fellow-men,  the  fearful  savagery  and 
human  butchery  called  war  become  more  and 
more  unspeakable  and  full  of  horror. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  college  life  held  out 
its  lure.  From  1866  to  1870 — -with  one  year 
spent  in  Bethany  for  the  sake  of  association  and 
good  fellowship — ^young  Wakefield  enjoyed  the 
life  of  the  average  college  student  and  graduate. 
The  year  following  the  graduation  he  appeared 
at  Hiram  College  as  the  professor  of  natural 

109 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


science.  A  few  years  later,  yielding  to  domestic 
considerations,  college  work  was  surrendered  for 
a  time  and  E.  B.  Wakefield  became  a  pastor  of 
the  North  Bloomfield  Church.  After  a  few  years 
the  brethren  at  Warren  called  him  to  that  church 
so  freighted  with  hallowed  memories.  In  1890 
Hiram  called  again  so  earnestly  that  pastoral 
cares  were  laid  aside  and  college  responsibilities 
and  fellowship  once  more  were  undertaken. 

Nearly  every  human  life  looks  to  certain 
places  which  thrill  as  centers  of  associations — 
nerve  centers,  indeed;  centers  of  abiding  influ- 
ence, shaping,  controlling  and  determining  char- 
acter and  destiny.  In  the  life  of  E.  B.  Wakefield 
three  such  centers  of  vital  association  are  con- 
spicuous. First  the  boyhood  home,  where  the 
first  friends,  the  earliest  and  truest  friends, 
abide;  school  days,  church  days,  with  their  first 
religious  aspirations,  hopes,  ideals;  home  life, 
where  father  and  mother  reign  regal  in  parent- 
hood, royal  in  neighborliness,  honored  by  men 
and  blessed  of  God.  What  heart  can  fail  to 
yearn  toward  the  birthplace,  especially  if  this  be 
also  the  birthplace  into  the  larger  life  where 
their  silent  graves  witness  to  their  living  faith? 
Second,  there  is  the  Warren  Church,  that  heart- 
throb of  great  faith  in  the  capital  of  the  old 
Western  Reserve.  It  was  a  worthy  aristocracy 
that  came  from  New  York  and  New  England,  in 
the  pioneer  days,  to  build  that  portion  of  the  old 
Northwest.  It  was  here  that  the  mighty  men 
amongst  our  pioneers  pleaded  with  passionate 
earnestness  and  with  devotion  of  love  intense  for 
the  reunion  of  Christ's  followers  in  obedient  love 
to  Him.  To  call  the  roll  of  influences  which  had 
been  absorbed  and  radiated  in  turn  by  the  War- 

110 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


ren  Clinrch  would  be  practically  to  call  the  roll 
of  the  first  and  second  generations  of  our 
pioneers  of  faith.  In  this  work  Wakefield  was 
driven  to  strenuous  effort,  and  was  as  loyally 
sustained  as  any  pastor  in  the  flock  of  God. 
When  the  mature  man,  conscious  of  his  best  and 
strongest  powers,  buries  these  energies  in  a  radi- 
ating center  such  as  Warren,  0.,  future  years  are 
made  unspeakably  rich  by  the  memories  which 
throng  at  every  turn. 

In  the  third  place  stands  Hiram  College.  Pro- 
fessor Wakefield  has  for  a  long  time  had  the  dis- 
tinguished honor  of  presiding  over  the  ''snap 
course"  of  the  curriculum.  If  this  impression 
seems  at  all  obscure,  ask  any  Hiram  student  of 
the  present  or  older  days,  and  full  particulars 
will  be  promptly  forthcoming.  Invariably,  how- 
ever, when  the  chuckles  have  signified  the  joyous 
memory  of  past  "snaps,"  faces  will  fall  into 
more  serious  mold  and  hearts  will  speak  un- 
bidden, saying:  ''But,  after  all,  that  was  the 
most  profitable  course  I  had  in  all  the  years  I 
was  there.  We  didn't  learn  so  very  much  out  of 
books,  to  be  sure,  but  we  could  afford  to  surren- 
der all  the  rest  of  the  college  course  for  what  we 
learned  from  Wakefield."  Let  it  be  said  to  his 
eternal  honor  that,  as  a  drillmaster  in  the  science 
of  academic  pedagogy,  E.  B.  Wakefield  used  to 
be  the  most  delicious  failure  conceivable.  On  the 
other  hand,  to  his  equally  abiding  honor,  it  must 
be  truthfully  said  that  the  impression  students 
gained  in  his  classrooms  was  more  powerful, 
creative  and  worth  while  in  shaping  ideals  and 
the  determination  of  character  than  any  possible 
amount  of  book  scholarship  could  have  been.  He 
taught  by  example. 

8  111 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Some  men  are  cold,  metallic,  hard;  others  are 
soft,  yielding,  irresponsible;  some  exhale  an 
atmosphere  morally  noxious  and  spiritually  neg- 
ative. To  none  of  these  does  E.  B.  Wakefield 
gravitate.  Human,  essentially  human,  human  in 
every  outreach  of  affection  and  forth-putting  of 
energy,  but,  withal,  a  humanity  lifted  up  with  its 
weaknesses  and  harshness  and  defilement  all  lost 
in  the  strength,  the  courage,  the  tenderness  of 
humanity's  Redeemer,  Christ.  Among  the  saints 
who  live  to  bless  the  earth  in  quiet,  inconspicuous 
and  unostentatious  ways,  none  is  more  really  and 
truly  a  saint  alive  than  Edmund  Burritt  Wake- 
field. 


EUCLID  AVENUE  MEETING-HOUSE,  CLEVELAITO,  OHIO 

112 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Isaiah  Jones  Dr.  Orlando  Wilcox  L.  B.  Wilkes 


J.  W.  Errett  W.  T.  Homer  W.yK.  Azbill 


R.  a  White  H.  J.  White 

SOME  OHIO  PREACHERS 

113 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


xn 

IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

nr  HE  disciples  were  loyal  to  their  conntry  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War.  Once  in  awhile  one  like 
Cyrus  McNeely,  of  Hopedale,  held  to  non-resist- 
ance. Now  and  then  one  went  to  Canada  for  fear 
of  arrest  for  treason.  The  majority  were  true 
to  their  country.  The  disciples  did  not  divide 
over  the  war.  They  believed  in  Christian  unity. 
There  were  no  North  or  South  Christians.  As 
citizens,  North  or  South,  they  were  subject  to  the 
powers  that  be,  so  conscientiously  they  went  to 
war.  They  that  take  the  sword  must  perish  by 
the  sword. 

E.  B.  Wakefield  presents  this  subject  in  its 
true  light.   He  writes  as  follows : 

"In  one  way  Ohio  was  fortunate  during  the 
Civil  War.  There  were  minor  differences  of 
sentiment,  but  the  State  was  essentially  a  unit 
in  standing  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
Hence  the  people  were  almost  wholly  spared  the 
evil  personal  differences  and  the  deadly  feuds 
which  so  often  embittered  the  border  States.  As 
a  rule,  Ohio 's  soldiers  fought  from  principle,  and 
never  from  hatred  or  any  hope  of  gain.  They 
felt  that  the  welfare  of  the  world  and  of  the  age 
was  wrapped  up  in  the  fate  of  this  republic. 
When  the  war  was  ended  and  the  life  of  the 
nation  was  assured,  they  were  glad  to  lay  off  the 

114 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


trappings  of  war  and  hasten  to  the  old  firesides, 
to  tread  the  old  paths  of  peace. 

*  *  No  church  distinctions  whatever  were  known 
during  the  war;  and  it  is  wholly  impossible,  at 
this  date,  to  tell  definitely  of  the  part  borne  by 
the  disciples  of  Christ.  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
everywhere,  probably,  they  bore  their  proper 
part,  and  in  nearly  every  regiment  of  more  than 
two  hundred  that  did  service  in  the  field,  they 
had  representatives.  Although  only  a  casual 
traveler,  the  writer  has  met  scores  of  brethren, 
remote  from  his  part  of  the  State,  who,  as  ofi&cers 
or  in  the  ranks,  had  borne  good  parts  in  the  war, 
and  some  of  whom  had  risen  to  places  of  influ- 
ence and  prominence. 

"The  only  place,  as  I  suppose,  where  any 
record  whatever  has  been  kept  of  our  men  who 
served  in  the  old  army,  is  at  Hiram.  And  there 
the  record  has  been  kept  wholly  for  the  sake  of 
the  college,  though  students  were  so  commonly 
church-members  that  it  may  serve  for  a  page  of 
church  history.  Hiram  was  still  young  when  the 
war  began,  but  some  250  of  her  students  served 
from  first  to  last  in  the  Union  Army.  First  of 
all  among  these,  as  he  was  first  of  all  among  men 
to  those  who  truly  knew  him,  was  James  A.  Gar- 
field. Company  A  of  his  regiment,  the  Forty- 
second  Ohio,  was  made  up  of  Hiram  boys,  and 
J.  S.  Ross,  who  has  since  served  just  as  heroic- 
ally, when  courage  and  self-sacrifice  are  quite 
as  sorely  tried,  led  the  company  in  the  last  cam- 
paign as  captain.  Maj.  F.  A.  Williams,  of  this 
regiment,  died  early  in  the  service,  a  Christian 
of  splendid  promise.  The  world  has  been  poorer 
because  he  was  taken  away.  Hiram  furnished 
a  good  many  oflScers.   I  recall,  as  majors,  Eggle- 

115 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


ston,  Johnston  and  Pettibone.  There  may  have 
been  others.  Colonel  Pritchard,  the  captor  of 
President  Davis,  was  affiliated  with  Hiram. 

''Of  the  great  rank  and  file  who  fight  battles 
from  heroic  sense  of  duty  and  fill  essentially  un- 
marked graves,  we  may  say  with  reverent  pride, 
we  have  full  measure.  Allyn,  Ryder  and  Cook, 
of  the  Forty-second,  died  in  the  Vicksburg  cam- 
paign. Chas.  P.  Bowler  and  Wallace  Cobum,  of 
the  Seventh  Ohio,  were  killed,  one  at  Cedar 
Mountain  and  one  at  Winchester  in  '62.  They 
were  fitting  for  the  highest  Christian  work.  And 
as  you  name  every  leading  battlefield  we  recall 
names  and  faces  that  vanished  there.  It  was  a 
cruel  war:  when  you  recall  the  death-roll,  more 
cruel  to  the  North  than  to  the  South. 

**I  can  not  forbear  speaking  of  Maj.  Delos  R. 
Northway,  who  commanded  the  Sixth  Ohio  Cav- 
alry when  he  was  killed  in  the  Wilderness  in  '64, 
He  was  always  a  Christian  and  he  always  led 
his  men.  One  of  his  last  acts  was  to  write  my 
father,  asking  him  to  come  to  be  chaplain  of  their 
regiment.  He  said  the  boys  would  all  love  him! 
No  better  soldier  ever  fought  for  any  cause. 

''Now  it  is  all  over.  Let  it  remain  to  us  all 
a  bit  of  heroic,  and  yet  melancholy,  memory.  In 
it  all,  we  never  thought  of  dividing  from  our 
brethren  of  the  South.  We  always  felt  there  was 
something  in  our  fellowship  that  went  far  beyond 
political  bonds.  We  knew  that  the  environment 
of  the  South,  its  economical  and  social  interests, 
were  ditferent  from  ours.  There  seemed  no  way 
but  that  we  should  come  into  collision.  But  now 
that  the  storm  is  over,  mutually  chastened,  we 
can  sit  down  together  and  nothing  shall  come 
between  us.    Inevitably  we  shall  more  grow  to 

116 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


be  one.  And  the  dearest  and  traest  unity  will  be 
of  our  faith." 

At  this  time  there  is  no  North  or  South.  We 
all  march  under  the  ''Stars  and  Stripes." 

Capt.  C.  E.  Henry  was  educated  at  Hiram. 
For  many  years  he  was  president  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Hiram  College.  He  was  a  valuable 
detective  of  the  United  States  Government  and 
was  made  marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
by  President  Garfield.  At  a  G.  A.  R.  meeting  in 
Cleveland  a  poem  by  Captain  Henry  was  read, 
and  dedicated  to  the  wives  and  children  of  the 
comrades  of  the  Forty-second  boys.  It  may  apply 
to  others  also.   It  was  ordered  published. 

"More  than  forty  years  ago,  dear  boys, 

You  tramped  o'er  hill  and  plain, 
And  scaled  the  lofty  Cumberlands, 

'Mid  snow  and  sleet  and  rain. 
Treason's  banners  fled  before  you. 

When  you  met  them  in  the  fray; 
Fled  beyond  Kentucky's  border, 

O'er  the  mountains  far  away. 
With  Garfield  for  commander, 

And  with  Sheldon  good  and  true, 
And  with  gallant,  fighting  Pardee 

To  lead  the  boys  in  blue, 
And  Cowles,  with  battle-flag  unfurled, 

'Mid  cannon's  roar  and  noise. 
You  charged  upon  the  rebel  foe — 

Brave  Forty-second  boys. 

"Far  down  the  Mississippi,  boys. 

Your  flag  was  in  the  van; 
Five  thousand  at  Fort  Hind  man 

Surrendered  to  a  man. 
Port  Gibson,  Jackson,  Champion, 

And  on  Black  Eiver's  shore. 
You  helped  to  take,  with  Vicksburg, 

Full  thirty  thousand  more. 
Your  comrades  who  fell  in  the  charge 

Along  the  battle-way. 
Beneath  the  green  magnolias 

Sleep  peacefully  to-day; 

m 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


And  the  old  slave,  with  thanksgiving 

For  the  freedom  he  enjoys, 
Oasts  fairest  flowers  on  the  graves 

Of  Forty-second  boys. 

"Who  sent  you  forth  with  blessings,  boys, 

And  gave  the  flag  you  bore 
To  victory  'gaiust  treason's  hosts, 

For  three  long  years  or  more? 
Who  followed  you  with  fervent  prayers 

Through  battles  and  alarms? 
Your  mothers,  wives  and  sisters, 

And  your  sweethearts  dear  and  true, 
Gave  all  their  wealth  of  trust  and  love 

To  their  hero  boys  in  blue: 
Then,  hand  in  hand  with  them  through  life, 

More  dear  to  you  than  pearls. 
And  now  we  pray  God's  blessing  on 

The  Forty-second  girls." 

The  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  con- 
vened in  Shelby  in  1863.  A.  S.  Hayden,  secre- 
tary, and  R.  M.  Bishop,  president.  J.  W.  Lan- 
phear  moved  the  following,  which  was  unani- 
mously passed: 

"Whereas,  Our  country  is  involved  in  the 
calamities  of  civil  war,  inaugurated  by  the  rebel- 
lion of  a  part  of  the  Southern  States  of  our 
Union,  threatening  the  destruction  of  our  civil 
and  religious  liberties;  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  we  hereby  declare  our  un- 
wavering allegiance  to  the  Government  under 
which  we  live,  and  pledge  to  it  our  unqualified 
support, 

"Resolved,  That  we  recognize  our  chief  ruler 
as  the  minister  of  God,  *a  revenger  to  execute 
wrath  on  him  that  doeth  evil,'  and  as  such  en- 
titled to  our  earnest  prayers  that  he  may  be 
endowed  with  wisdom  from  God  adequate  to  this 
dangerous  crisis. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  submit  to  all  legally 
constituted  authorities,  both  civil  and  military,  to 

118 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  express  intent  that  we  may  not  only  be  loyal 
citizens,  but  that  we  may  also  see  the  present 
rebellion  speedily  crushed,  and  our  good  Govern- 
ment triumphant  in  the  administration  of  right- 
eousness and  peace  throughout  the  whole  land. 

"Resolved,  That  we  assure  and  reassure  our 
brave  and  noble  soldiers  in  the  field  that  they 
have  our  warmest  sympathies  and  constant 
prayers,  and  that  they  shall  have  our  material 
and  spiritual  aid  whenever  it  is  possible  to 
bestow  it." 


119 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XIII 

THE  FIRST  RESTORATION  CHURCH  IN  OHIO 

■yHE  first  church  of  Christ  of  the  Eestoration 
movement  in  Ohio  was  organized  at  Mantna, 
0.,  Jan.  27,  1827.  Walter  Scott  organized  the 
(New)  Lisbon  Church  in  November,  1827.  The 
Mantua  Church  is,  then,  historically  at  the  head 
of  the  570  churches  of  Christ  in  Ohio.  A  Baptist 
church  was  established  in  Nelson  in  1808,  the 
first  church  of  any  order  in  Portage  County,  0. 
In  1820  the  celebrated  Mahoning  Association  of 
Baptist  Churches  was  formed.  Alexander  Camp- 
bell, in  time,  joined  this  association,  and  the 
Christian  Baptist  circulated  in  all  the  churches. 
Through  the  presence  of  Campbell  and  his  writ- 
ings, reformatory  views  took  possession  of  the 
people  in  the  fifteen  churches  of  the  Mahoning 
Association.  In  about  1824,  the  Nelson  Church 
declared  in  favor  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  rule 
of  faith  and  practice.  For  two  or  three  years 
the  disciples  of  Nelson,  Hiram  and  Mantua  met 
at  various  places  for  Bible  instruction  and  wor- 
ship. Then,  in  January,  1827,  they  organized  at 
Mantua.  Later  the  church  at  Hiram  was  organ- 
ized, then  the  church  at  Garrettsville. 

The  first  year  eighteen  members  were  added 
to  the  Mantua  Church.  The  church,  in  May,  was 
visited  by  Thomas  Campbell.  "The  infant  cause 
derived  great  advantages  from  this  visit.   He  set 

121 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


in  order  the  things  wanting,  confirmed  the  faith 
of  the  members,  and  new  converts  were  added  to 
the  congregation."  At  this  visit  of  Thomas 
Campbell,  May  24,  1828,  he  preached  in  a  barn, 
and  Symonds  Eyder,  of  Hiram,  confessed  the 
Lord  and  was  baptized.  He  became  a  strong 
leader  in  the  Hiram  Church. 

In  the  early  days  of  this  church  there  were 
some  severe  trials,  and  the  greatest  of  these  was 
' '  Mormonism. "  Sidney  Rigdon,  of  Mormon 
fame,  was  the  preacher  at  Mantua.  Rigdon  was 
once  a  Baptist  preacher.  It  is  evident,  to  those 
who  were  familiar  with  his  doings  in  those  days, 
that  he  came  among  the  disciples  as  a  schemer. 
He  talked  about  the  Aborigines  and  the  Mound- 
builders,  and  in  his  eloquent,  enthusiastic  style 
spoke  of  a  book  to  be  published  setting  forth  these 
subjects  and  the  restoration  of  miracles.  He  led 
off  Oliver  Snow,  who  became  a  leader  among  the 
Mormons.  He  led  off  Symonds  Ryder,  a  man  of 
genius  and  mental  ability.  Ryder,  however,  was 
soon  cured  of  the  delusion.  Joe  Smith  wrote  to 
him  to  sell  his  land  and  property  and  put  it  into 
the  "community"  at  Kirtland.  This  letter  pur- 
ported to  be  from  the  Almighty,  and  inspired. 
Ryder  was  to  be  a  Mormon  elder.  The  letter 
spelled  Ryder's  name  wrongly.  His  name  is 
Symonds  Ryder,  and  the  letter  spelled  it  Simon 
Rider.  He  said,  if  this  letter  was  from  the  Lord, 
he  would  know  how  to  spell  his  name.  With  this 
keynote  he  started  anew  an  investigation,  and 
came  back  to  the  church,  kept  his  fortune,  cor- 
rected his  mistake,  and  was  a  valuable  member 
of  the  church  at  Mantua  and  Hiram.  Joe  Smith 
and  Sidney  Rigdon  were  tarred  and  feathered 
and  driven  from  Hiram. 

122 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  Mantua  Church  has  given  to  the  world 
many  valuable  disciples  of  Christ.  Among  them 
may  be  mentioned  Oris,  John  and  Amzi  Atwater, 
Almeda  Booth,  Mary  Atwater  Neely,  the  Der- 
thicks,  Frederick  Truedley  and  many  others.  For 
ninety  years  it  has  kept  on  the  even  tenor  of  its 
way  in  a  country- village  community  and  a  power 
for  good  in  the  locality.  The  church  has  more 
than  one  hundred  members,  and  125  in  the  Bible 
school.  It  has  fellowship  in  all  our  missionary 
and  benevolent  enterprises.  Being  located  only 
five  miles  from  Hiram,  they  frequently  have 
student  preachers.  Bro.  Truedley  is  professor 
at  Ohio  State  University  at  Athens,  O. 

An  Historic  Chtjech — Mentor 

As  the  church  at  Mentor,  0.,  is  an  historic 
church  of  interest,  attention  is  called  to  it.  The 
church,  in  1826,  was  a  Baptist  church  and  had 
Sidney  Eigdon  as  minister.  Rigdon  had  been  a 
reader  of  the  Christian  Baptist,  and  had  adopted 
its  restoration  teaching.  In  the  spring  of  1828 
he  visited  Walter  Scott  at  Warren.  At  other 
times  he  had  interviews  with  him,  and  had 
adopted  his  Scriptural  view  of  baptism.  When 
he  returned  from  Warren  he  brought  with  him 
Adamson  Bently,  the  great  Warren  preacher  of 
the  Restoration  movement.  Bently  was  a  broth- 
er-in-law of  Rigdon.  Together  they  conducted  a 
successful  meeting,  and  baptized  about  fifty 
persons.  A.  S.  Hayden,  in  his  ''History  of  Dis- 
ciples on  the  Western  Reserve,"  says:  "Nearly 
the  whole  church  accepted  cordially  the  doctrine 
of  the  Lord,  exchanged  their  'articles'  for  the 
new  covenant  as  the  only  divine  basis  for 
Christ's   church,   and   abandoned  unscriptural 

123 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


titles  and  clmrch  names,  choosing  to  be  known 
simply  as  disciples  of  Christ. ' ' 

From  Mentor,  Rigdon  and  Bentley  went  to 
"Kirtland,  five  miles  distant,  where  an  ingather- 
ing awaited  them.  The  converts  were  so  many 
that  they  organized  a  church  at  Kirtland. 

The  Mentor  Church  has  at  this  date  (1917) 
a  substantial  meeting-house  and  about  one  hun- 
dred members;  also  a  Bible  school  of  one  hun- 
dred. In  1828  it  was  shaken  by  a  tempest  under 
the  outbreak  of  Mormonism.  Few  of  its  mem- 
bers were  led  astray.  Kirtland,  with  less  expe- 
rience and  more  under  Eigdon's  power,  became 
engulfed,  and  has  never  since  been  recovered. 
The  church  in  Mentor,  with  stronger  material, 
resisted  the  shock.  They  were  much  aided  in 
their  resistance  by  the  presence  of  Thomas 
Campbell,  who  spent  several  months  there  and 
in  the  vicinity  during  the  agitation  it  produced. 

M.  S.  Clapp,  a  young  man,  came  into  the 
church  in  the  Rigdon-Bentley  meeting,  and  soon 
attained  prominence  by  his  zeal  and  ability.  He 
began  the  study  of  the  classics  under  Thomas 
Campbell,  and  in  time  became  a  good  Greek  and 
Latin  scholar.  In  1830  he  married  Miss  Alicia 
Campbell,  sister  of  Alexander  Campbell.  He 
studied  in  Bethany,  Va.,  and  West  Middletown, 
Pa.,  and  returned  to  Mentor,  and  for  years  was 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Mentor  and  other 
places.  He  saw,  in  the  Christian  religion,  the 
germ  of  all  good  to  man  in  the  world,  as  well  as 
the  sure  and  only  basis  for  hope  hereafter.  He 
was  a  friend  of  the  poor,  against  slavery  and 
intemperance,  and  stood  firm  in  defending  the 
^>^ible  against  infidels.  In  1830  he  defended  the 
truth  as  against  Mormonism. 

124 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


In  the  fall  of  1830,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  a  young 
minister  from  Lorain  County,  under  Eigdon's 
influence,  passing  through  Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  be- 
came converted  to  Mormonism.  In  November, 
Pratt  and  three  others  came  to  Eigdon,  in  Men- 
tor, and  remained  a  week.  In  Kirtland  some 
disciples  had  formed  *'a  community"  of  goods, 
and  had  all  things  in  common,  and  advocated  the 
restoration  of  miracles.  There  were  seventeen 
of  them.  They  were  rebaptized  into  the  Mormon 
faith.  Then  Rigdon  and  his  wife  were  baptized 
into  the  same  order  of  things,  and  many  of  the 
Kirtland  members  went  the  same  way.  Three 
weeks  after  this,  Rigdon  went  to  Palmyra,  N.  Y., 
and  tarried  with  Joe  Smith  two  months.  Soon 
after  his  return  to  Ohio,  Smith  and  several  of 
his  relatives  arrived.  The  delusion  immediately 
assumed  an  aggressive  attitude.  They  formed  the 
Mormon  hierarchy,  and  Rigdon 's  popularity  gave 
it  success.  The  opposition  to  it  was  quick  on  its 
feet.  One  J.  J.  Moss,  a  young  schoolteacher,  had 
recently  come  into  the  Mentor  Church.  He  there 
and  then  began  his  great  and  long  opposition  to 
all  forms  of  error.  Under  his  influence,  and  that 
of  M.  S.  Clapp  and  Thomas  Campbell,  little  head- 
way was  made  in  Mentor  by  this  Mormon  raid. 
Only  the  church  at  Kirtland  went  down.  Thomas 
Campbell  proposed  to  pursue  an  exposure  of  the 
claims  of  Mormonism: 

1.  By  examining  the  character  of  its  author 
and  his  accomplices. 

2.  By  exposing  their  pretensions  to  miraculous 
gifts  and  the  gift  of  tongues ;  and  by  testing  them 
in  three  or  four  foreign  languages. 

3.  By  exposing  their  assertion  that  the  author- 
ity for  baptism  was  lost  for  fourteen  hundred 

125 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


years  till  restored  by  the  new  prophet  and  by 
showing  it  to  be  a  contradiction  of  Matt.  16 : 18. 

4.  That  the  pretended  duty  of  ' '  common  prop- 
erty" is  antiscriptural,  and  a  fraud  upon  society. 

5.  That  rebaptizing  believers  is  making  void 
the  law  of  Christ ;  and  the  pretensions  of  impart- 
ing the  Holy  Spirit  by  imposition  of  hands  is  an 
unscriptural  intrusion  on  the  exclusive  preroga- 
tive of  the  primary  apostles. 

6.  That  its  pretentious  visions,  humility  and 
spiritual  perfections  are  nowise  superior  to  those 
of  the^  first  Shakers,  Jemima  Wilkinson,  the 
FrencK  prophets,  etc. 

7.  In  the  last  place,  by  examining  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  itself, 
pointing  out  its  evident  contradictions,  foolish 
absurdities,  shameless  pretensions  to  antiquity, 
and  thus  restoring  it  to  its  rightful  claimant  as 
a  production  beneath  contempt,  and  utterly  un- 
worthy of  reception  of  a  schoolboy. 

Rigdon  threw  Campbell's  communication  into 
the  fire.  His  reputation,  however,  lifted  Mor- 
monism  into  notice.  He  had  been  a  popular 
preacher  at  Hiram  and  Mantua.  He  took  Smith 
to  those  places.  Some  converts  from  the  dis- 
ciples were  made  to  the  new  order  of  things. 
The  majority  of  them,  however,  saw  in  it  a 
scheme  to  get  their  property  into  a  common 
fund,  and  allow  certain  persons  to  live  without 
work.  The  big  stone  temple  was  built  at  Kirt- 
land.  All  those  who  joined  in  this  "community" 
lost  their  property.  After  the  Hiramites  saw 
through  the  scheme,  they  gathered  together  and 
were  joined  by  adjoining  townspeople,  and  they 
"tarred  and  feathered"  Rigdon  and  Smith  and 
drove  them  from  the  township. 

126 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  Mentor  Church  has  been  a  tower  of 
strength.  Their  early  trials  were  severe,  but 
they  lived  through  them.  The  church  is  doing  a 
good  work  among  the  young,  and  takes  a  hand 
in  all  the  missionary  societies  and  benevolent 
enterprises  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  M.  S. 
Clapp  and  J.  J.  Moss  were  great  and  successful 
ministers  coming  from  the  Mentor  Church. 

1806 — John  Schaefee — 1908 

When  the  renowned  traveler.  Bayard  Taylor, 
visited  the  great  naturalist  and  scientist,  Alex- 
ander von  Humboldt,  in  his  old  age,  Von  Hum- 
boldt remarked  to  Taylor,  "You  have  seen  many 
ruins,  and  now  you  behold  the  last  one;"  refer- 
ring to  his  weakened  and  aged  body.  Taylor 
wittily  and  wisely  replied,  referring  to  his  mind 
and  works,  ' '  Not  a  ruin,  but  a  pyramid. ' ' 

For  one  hundred  years  John  Schaefer  was  a 
pyramid  of  conservative  and  practical  wisdom. 
From  boyhood  he  adorned  the  Christian  graces 
and  virtues.  Statistics  show  that  doctors  are 
short-lived  and  ministers  long-lived.  John 
Schaefer  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel  eighty 
years — since  1834 ;  among  the  disciples  of  Christ, 
seventy-four  years;  and  before  that,  six  years 
among  the  Lutherans.  He  was  born  in  West- 
moreland County,  Pa.,  and  afterwards  (in  his 
boyhood)  settled  in  Columbiana  County,  0. 

He  had  a  fine  German  scholar,  named  John 
Wagenhals,  as  a  preceptor.  At  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  studied  theology  as  taught  by  the 
Lutheran  Church.  He  soon  was  licensed  to 
preach,  and  for  six  years  served  in  this  capacity. 
He  received  what  was  considered  in  those  days, 
and  in  the  country,  a  large  salary  of  $400  a  year. 

9  127 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


From  marriages  and  other  sources  he  added  to 
this  sum  $100  more,  and  so  had  for  those  times 
a  large  compensation. 

He  married  a  sister  of  the  lamented  James 
Hartzel.  In  those  early  days,  when  friends  met, 
they  engaged  in  religious  conversations  and  dis- 
cussions. He  had  his  mind  turned  into  a  new 
Bible  channel  in  one  of  those  conversations,  as 
Bro.  Hartzel  asked  him:  ''Which,  in  the  order  of 
salvation,  stands  first — faith  or  repentance?" 
Schaefer  replied:  ''Repentance  precedes  true 
evangelical,  or  saving,  faith."  Hartzel  asked: 
"Do  you  hold  that  repentance  is  pleasing  to 
God?"  Schaefer  replied:  "Most  certainly,  or 
He  never  would  have  commanded  it."  Hartzel 
then  said:  "The  apostle  Paul  says,  'Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God!'  "  Schaefer 
confessed  his  error,  and  never  afterward  preached 
that  repentance  comes  before  faith. 

From  this  time  on,  his  confidence  in  Luther- 
anism  was  weakening.  He  had  a  class  of  about 
thirty  catechumens,  instructing  them  for  the  act 
of  confirmation.  In  this  act  they  assume  the 
baptismal  vows  made  in  their  infancy  to  their 
sponsors  or  god-parents.  When  he  came  to  ask 
the  class  if  they  had  been  baptized,  a  young  lady 
replied:  "I  do  not  know."  Question:  "Did  your 
parents  never  tell  you  that  you  were  baptized?" 
Answer:  "They  told  me  that  I  was  sprinkled 
when  I  was  a  baby,  but  I  know  nothing  at  all 
about  it."  Schaefer  there  and  then  saw  that 
being  baptized  was  a  matter  of  faith.  He  went 
home  and  told  his  wife  that  he  would  never 
sprinkle  another  infant.  He  had  no  trouble  as 
to  immersion.  In  his  theological  studies  he 
learned  that  immersion  was  the  original  practice 

128 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


of  the  church,  but  thought  that  the  ministers,  as 
they  claimed,  had  authority  to  change  it  to 
sprinkling.  He  at  once  sent  for  Jonas  Hartzel, 
and  at  Phillips  Church,  in  March,  1834,  he  and 
his  wife  were  baptized. 

Schaefer  sent  in  his  resignation  to  the  Lu- 
theran Synod,  which  met  at  New  Lisbon,  and  sev- 
ered his  connection  with  that  body.  The  synod 
dropped  him  as  a  heretic.  He  was  within  two 
months  of  the  close  of  his  year,  and  the  money 
had  been  raised  to  finish  paying  him.  He  needed 
the  money,  but  gave  it  up  heroically.  What 
should  he  do?  He  had  thirty  acres  of  land  and 
less  than  half  paid  for,  without  team  or  means 
to  cultivate  it. 

After  that  he  preached  every  Lord's  Day  and 
sometimes  during  the  week.  He  labored  with  his 
own  hands,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  "I  had  to 
dig."  He  was  not  ashamed  "to  dig."  In  those 
early  days  a  feeling  had  gone  out  among  the  dis- 
ciples that  a  minister  must  not  be  paid  for  his 
services.  After  awhile  one  congregation  agreed 
to  pay  him  one  dollar  a  visit,  once  a  month;  two 
others  offered  him  fifty  dollars  a  year  for  one- 
fourth  of  his  time.  Some  brethren  felt  hurt  be- 
cause he  was  taking  money  for  preaching.  He 
received  thirty-seven  dollars  of  the  amount 
pledged  and  never  asked  for  the  rest.  With  his 
own  hands  and  business  energy  he  worked  him- 
self into  a  competency  and  never  demanded  pay. 
He  was  glad  in  his  old  age  that  a  support  is 
.given  to  gospel  ministers. 

The  forefathers  made  great  struggles  and 
self-denials  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  Restora- 
tion in  which  we  are  engaged.  The  church  at 
Bethany  and  Alexander  Campbell,  knowing  of 

129 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Bro.  Schaefer's  sacrifices  and  efforts,  at  one  time 
generously  sent  him  one  hundred  dollars.  All 
honor  to  those  pioneer  heroes  that  went  into  the 
struggle  at  their  own  charges.  Bro.  Schaefer 
had  excellent  endowments  of  mind,  manners  and 
education;  was  a  fluent  speaker  in  his  native 
German,  and,  if  he  could  have  been  amply  sup- 
ported in  work  among  his  own  people,  what  a 
power  he  would  have  been. 

The  Deerfield  Church,  with  which  Bro.  Schae- 
fer allied  himself,  was  blessed  with  many  com- 
petent teachers,  and  their  influence  was  felt  for 
thirty  miles  around.  Peter  Hartzel,  Samuel 
McGowan  and  Alexander  Hubbard  were  of  the 
number.  Several  rose  to  eminence,  such  as  E.  B. 
Hubbard,  Jonas  Hartzel,  A.  Allerton,  C.  P.  Finch 
and  John  Schaefer.  From  this  church  came  Milo 
Laughlin,  of  Missouri;  A.  J.  Laughlin,  of  Indi- 
ana, and  thence  the  Laughlins  of  Ohio.  W.  L. 
Hayden,  W.  W.  Hayden  and  M.  P.  Hayden — all 
fully  educated — gave  themselves  to  the  ministry 
and  hailed  from  Deerfield.  Eli  Regal,  an  asso- 
ciate of  Isaac  Errett  in  his  Michigan  work,  one 
of  the  best  men  among  all  God's  chosen  ones, 
came  from  this  celebrated  church. 

Bro.  Schaefer  had  ten  children,  seventeen 
grandchildren  and  nineteen  great-grandchildren. 
One  of  his  sons  married  Libbie  Johnson,  a  niece 
of  Isaac  Errett,  and  her  mother  lived  on  a  farm 
adjoining  that  of  the  centenarian.  Bro.  Schae- 
fer's  longevity  may  be  attributed  to  his  temper- 
ance habits,  to  his  hopeful  disposition,  and  at 
last  to  the  care  he  had  from  his  two  daughters, 
Susan  and  Mary,  who  made  bright  his  sunset  of 
life.   He  died  in  1908  at  the  age  of  102  years. 


130 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


W.  D.  Moore  W.  P.  Stratton  David  A.  Rumble 

S02VIE  PIONTSEBS  OP  THE  EESTOEATION 
131 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XIV 

IN  SOUTHERN  OHIO 

'Y'HE  Restoration  movement  in  Ohio  is  virtnally 
the  nnclens  of  a  world-wide  movement  for 
the  restoration  of  primitive  apostolic  Chris- 
tianity. The  movement  of  Barton  W.  Stone  in 
Kentucky  antedates  that  of  the  Campbells  in 
Ohio,  bnt  was  not  so  complete.  In  1830  they 
joined  together,  and  began  moving  the  religious 
world  to  join  in  an  effort  to  unify  and  restore 
the  doctrine  and  unity  that  was  in  the  first 
churches,  and  to  answer  the  Lord's  prayer  for 
the  oneness  of  all  believers  through  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  by  the  apostles  of  Christ.  The 
movement  that  commenced  on  the  Western  Re- 
serve in  1827,  among  the  Baptists,  rapidly  spread 
to  Baptist  communities  in  other  parts  of  the 
State.  Barton  W.  Stone  and  his  coworkers 
entered  Ohio,  and  communities  permeated  by 
their  teaching  were  easily  prepared  to  join  the 
Scriptural  world-wide  movement  to  restore  orig- 
inal apostolic  teaching. 

In  1804,  B.  W.  Stone  made  a  trip  to  Meigs 
County,  0.,  for  the  purpose  of  immersing  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  named  William  Caldwell. 
While  there  he  preached,  on  its  invitation,  to  the 
Separate  Baptist  Association  then  assembled 
there.  He  says:  ''The  result  was  that  they 
agreed  to  cast  away  their  formularies  and  creeds, 

132 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Parsonage  built  for  Samuel  Rogers  by  neighbors  and 
brethren,  1820,  near  New  Antioch,  Ohio,  where  he  lived 
twenty-seven  yeau"s  save  three. 


Meeting-house,  New  Antioch,  Ohio.  The  first  in  that 
country.  It  was  built  for  Samuel  Rogers  in  the  early 
years  of  his  ministry  and  neuned  by  him. 

133 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


and  take  the  Bible  alone  for  their  rale  of  faith 
and  practice;  to  throw  away  their  name  'Baptist' 
and  take  the  name  'Christian,'  and  to  bury  their 
Association,  and  to  become  one  with  us  in  the 
great  work  of  Christian  union.  Then  they 
marched  up  in  a  band  to  the  stand  where  Mr. 
Stone  was  preaching,  shouting  the  praises  of 
God  and  proclaiming  aloud  what  they  had  done. 
We  met  them,  and  embraced  each  other  in  Chris- 
tian love." 

In  an  early  day  Samuel  Eogers  preached  in 
New  Antioch,  Clinton  County.  Like  Antioch  'of 
old,  the  gospel  movement  went  out  from  this  cen- 
ter to  Clinton,  Darke,  Highland,  Brown,  Cler- 
mont and  other  counties,  and  furnished  centers 
from  which  churches  grew  up  and  into  the  full- 
ness of  the  Restoration  movement.  Great  credit 
should  be  given  the  Christian  denomination  for 
paving  the  way  for  complete  New  Testament 
faith  and  practice.  They  aimed  right  whatever 
else  may  be  said  of  them. 

The  historic  address  of  J.  S.  West,  of  Brown 
County,  0.,  at  the  dedication  of  a  new  meeting- 
house at  Liberty,  Redoak  Post-office,  in  1874,  is 
typical  of  the  conditions  and  straggles  in  other 
localities.  The  address  is  a  masterly  one,  show- 
ing the  straggles  and  efforts  of  the  forefathers 
in  reaching  after  Bible  teaching.  It  shows  what 
they  contended  against.  Outside  of  the  "History 
of  Disciples  of  Christ  on  the  Western  Reserve," 
by  A.  S.  Hay  den,  no  document  throws  more  light 
on  our  history.  Georgetown,  the  county-seat  of 
Browm  County,  is  where  U.  S.  Grant  spent  his 
boyhood  days.  Liberty  Church  is  an  appropriate 
name  and  center  from  which  Christ's  trath  may 
start  out  to  make  all  men  free. 

134 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


In  northern  Ohio  the  pioneers  met  sectarian- 
ism, Mormonism,  Spiritualism,  infidelity  and  all 
forms  of  opposition.  In  southern  Ohio  they  met 
Shakerites,  socialism,  infidelity,  sectarianism  and 
Romanism.  Alexander  Campbell  and  Walter 
Scott  were  the  same  great  leaders  in  Cincinnati 
and  southern  Ohio  that  they  were  on  the  Western 
Reserve.  Cincinnati,  through  its  churches, 
preachers  and  publications,  became  a  great  cen- 
ter for  the  propagation  of  original  apostolic 
Christianity.  This  will  appear  in  the  sketches 
of  persons  and  periodicals. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  pioneer  preachers 
follow:  Alexander  Campbell,  Walter  Scott,  D.  S. 
Burnet,  A.  D.  Fillmore,  J.  H.  Lockwood,  Dr. 
Pearre,  James  Challen,  J.  W.  Hull,  B.  U.  Wat- 
kins,  Benjamin  Franklin,  J.  M.  Henry,  W.  D. 
Moore,  John  Laffe,  T.  J.  Melish,  W.  T.  Moore,  A. 
I.  Hobbs,  Samuel  Rogers,  J.  S.  West. 

1808— D.  S.  BiTBNET— 1867 

David  Statts  Burnet  was  bom  in  Dayton,  O., 
July  6,  1808.  When  eight  years  of  age  his  par- 
ents moved  to  Cincinnati.  At  the  age  of  thirteen, 
his  father  having  been  elected  mayor  of  the  city, 
David  was  taken  into  the  office  as  his  father's 
clerk.  About  the  same  time  he  was  sprinkled,  in 
accordance  with  the  Presbyterian  faith,  in  which 
he  had  been  brought  up.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Sunday  school, 
which  led  him  into  a  careful  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. His  investigations  soon  convinced  him  of 
the  errors  of  Presbyterianism,  and  especially  of 
infant  sprinkling  for  baptism,  and  therefore,  on 
the  26th  of  December,  1824,  he  was  immersed 
and  became  a  member  of  the  Enon  Baptist 

135 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


Chnrcli.  At  that  time  he  was  miacqnainted  with 
the  teaching  of  Alexander  Campbell  and  those 
associated  with  him  in  pleading  for  a  retnm  to 
primitive  Christianity;  and  yet  he  rejected  the 
authority  of  hnman  creeds,  and  declined  to  accept 
any  test  of  faith  but  the  word  of  God,  basing  his 
application  for  baptism  on  Rom.  10 : 6-10,  not 
knowing  that  any  one  else  had  done  so  before. 
They  hesitated,  but  he  was  received  by  the  Bap- 
tists. He  was  only  sixteen,  but  began  at  once  to 
preach  the  gospel.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was 
called  to  preach  at  Dayton.  In  the  winter  of 
1827  he  xmited  with  Elder  William  Montage,  of 
Kentucky,  in  the  organization  of  Sycamore  Street 
Baptist  Church  of  Cincinnati.  The  eighty  mem- 
bers adopted  a  more  liberal  and  progressive  plat- 
form than  usual  at  that  time.  The  principles  of 
the  Restoration,  as  advocated  by  Alexander 
Campbell,  Walter  Scott  and  others,  now  became 
generally  known,  and  their  influence  upon  the 
Baptist  churches  throughout  the  West  was  very 
great,  in  some  places  completely  absorbing  whole 
districts  and  enlisting  a  very  earnest  interest  in 
favor  of  the  plea  for  the  return  to  primitive 
Christianity.  The  Sycamore  Street  Baptist 
Church  was  not  free  from  this  influence,  and  it 
was  not  long  until  a  division  took  place,  the  two 
portions  forming  dijfferent  congregations  and 
finally  growing  into  the  present  Ninth  Street 
Baptist  Church  and  the  Christian  Church  at  the 
comer  of  Eighth  and  Walnut  Streets,  now 
merged  into  the  Central  Christian  Church.  Bro. 
Burnet  adhered  to  the  latter  organization,  and 
until  his  death  was  thoroughly  identified  with  the 
movement  and  a  zealous  defender  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  practices  advocated  by  disciples  of 

136 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Christ.  He  yielded  to  his  convictions  in  opposi- 
tion to  every  worldly  interest.  He  broke  away 
from  wealth,  position,  fame,  friends,  relatives 
and  religious  associations,  and  united  with  a 
people  at  that  time  held  in  low  esteem.  Nor 
could  it  be  expected  otherwise.  The  plea  the  dis- 
ciples made  struck  at  the  foundation  of  all  the 
existing  religious  sects;  hence  it  is  reasonable 
enough  to  suppose  the  sects  would  bitterly  de- 
nounce a  movement  which  had  for  its  object  their 
complete  destruction.  This  attitude  of  the  Res- 
toration arrayed  all  the  hosts  of  sectarianism 
against  it.  The  contest  was  a  fearful  one,  and 
the  odds  against  the  few  who  strove  for  a  return 
to  apostolic  Christianity  were  truly  appalling. 
But  truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail,  and  Bro. 
Burnet  lived  long  enough  to  see  his  brethren  a 
powerful  and  influential  people  in  the  land,  and 
to  reach  this  success  no  one  labored  more  faith- 
fully and  earnestly  than  himself,  traveling  exten- 
sively, working  day  and  night,  preaching  the 
gospel,  organizing  churches,  writing  for  the 
papers,  editing  books,  teaching  school,  doing 
anything  that  was  necessary  to  forward  the 
cause  which  lay  so  near  his  heart. 

From  1834  to  1840  he  published  the  Christian 
Preacher,  a  monthly  magazine  containing  choice 
discourses  and  essays  on  the  great  themes  con- 
nected with  man's  redemption.  In  1846  he  pub- 
lished the  Christian  Family  Magazine;  then  the 
Christian  Age  for  several  years.  At  another 
time  he  published,  simultaneously,  The  Reformer, 
the  Monthly  Age  and  the  Sunday  School  Journal. 
He  also  edited  the  ''Sunday  School  Library"  of 
fifty  volumes,  and  an  edition  of  the  Christian 
Baptist  in  one  volume.  In  the  Age  and  Reformer 

137 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


he  had  partners.  He  served  as  a  pastor  sixteen 
years  at  Sycamore  Street  and  then  at  Eighth  and 
Walnut  Streets.  In  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  Convention 
in  1867,  D.  S.  Burnet  was  chairman  of  a  commit- 
tee on  the  increase  of  the  number  of  preachers 
of  the  gospel.  The  other  members  of  the  com- 
mittee were  0.  A.  Burgess  and  Isaac  Errett.  As 
chairman  he  wrote  and  read: 

"Your  committee  to  whom  was  referred  so 
much  of  the  report  of  the  Board  as  refers  to  the 
supply  of  ministers  to  perform  the  missionary 
labors  of  the  society,  beg  leave  to  report: 

''That  we  are  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  a  subject  which  lies  at  the  very 
foundation  of  our  whole  enterprise,  for  without 
missionaries  our  society  is  utterly  useless.  In 
the  commencement  of  our  efforts  as  a  people  we 
could  not  employ  the  talents  with  which  God  had 
enriched  us,  but  now  the  state  of  the  case  is 
reversed.  We  are  more  wealthy  in  churches  than 
preachers.  Our  pioneers  are  fast  departing  to 
their  reward,  and  though  we  have  numerous  col- 
leges for  the  fitting  of  pious  and  gifted  sons  of 
the  church  for  the  work,  we  must  hasten  the  sup- 
ply to  meet  the  vastly  increased  demand.  The 
tide  of  death  waits  not  on  our  tardiness,  but  is 
sweeping  out  into  the  ocean  of  eternity  a  whole 
generation  before  we  have  submitted  to  them  our 
plea  of  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
disaster  of  a  disunited  church  in  the  face  of  a 
united  opposition. 

"While,  therefore,  we  commend  to  our 
churches  the  facilities  of  our  noble  universities 
and  colleges,  we  must  urge  upon  them  the  more 
speedy  preparation  of  a  large  number  of  vigor- 
ous working  men  for  the  field.    We  deem  it  of 

139 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  highest  importance  that  each  church  inquire 
whether  there  is  not  in  its  midst  a  diamond,  or 
more  than  one,  that  needs  only  the  labor  of  the 
spiritaal  lapidary  to  prepare  it  for  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  brow  of  the  bride  of  Christ.  There 
is  scarcely  a  church  in  the  land  which  can  not 
furnish  snch  a  jewel.  All  preachers  and  elders 
shonld  search  ont  snch  from  the  mines  of  intel- 
lectnal  and  devotional  wealth  lying  aronnd  thenL 
This  mnst  be  done,  and  done  speedily.  God  will 
hold  ns  to  a  rigid  account  if  we  are  derelict.  'Go, 
preach  the  gospel,'  is  not  more  seriously  urged 
upon  us  than  the  requirement,  'Pray  ye  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest  to  send  forth  more  laborers  into 
the  harvest,'  now  growing  in  ran kn ess  and 
waste:  and  prayer  without  effort  is  folly,  if  not 
hypocrisy.  In  the  person  selected,  talent  and 
devotion  should  be  happily  blended. 

"The  facilities  afforded  by  courses  of  lec- 
tures, something  like  those  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion, are  now  inviting  the  attention  of  young 
men  of  both  English  and  classical  attainments  in 
connection  with  some  of  our  institutions  free  of 
charge.  The  liberality  of  these  propositions 
should  call  forth  a  general  response  from  the 
churches  at  once,  and  in  the  course  of  one  or  two 
seasons  the  Macedonian  cry  now  echoing  over 
our  continent  will  be  caught  by  many  willing 
ears.  These  agencies,  church  ofl&cers,  the  course 
of  popular  lectures  and  the  regular  instruction 
of  all  our  colleges,  zealously  co-operating,  will 
soon  bring  the  supply  up  to  the  demand,  however 
great.  Few  better  pleas  for  the  unity  of  the 
church  can  be  conceived  than  may  be  founded 
upon  this  excessive  call  for  the  multiplication  of 
ministers.    "Were  all  the  lovers  of  Jesus  united, 

140 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


one-fourth  the  number  of  religious  teachers  now 
in  the  field  would  be  ample  for  the  requirements 
of  the  immense  church  augmentation  which  would 
result  from  such  a  union.  But  we  are  in  the 
midst  of  the  perilous  times  when  the  burden  of 
the  plea  for  this  union  itself  demands  a  multipli- 
cation of  our  ministerial  resources  a  hundred- 
fold. All  of  which  is  respectfully  and  affection- 
ately submitted." 

Having  made  such  a  plea  to  recruit  the  min- 
istry, he  suits  the  action  to  the  word,  and  left  in 
the  custody  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary 
Society,  at  his  decease,  $10,000  to  aid  in  prepar- 
ing young  men  for  the  ministry.  It  has  now 
increased  to  over  $25,000.  This  sum  is  invested, 
and  the  interest  is  loaned  to  young  men  prepar- 
ing for  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

Bro.  Burnet  all  through  his  career  advocated 
a  prepared  ministry  to  lead  the  churches  to  a 
clear  and  fuU  knowledge  of  the  word  of  God. 
Experience  has  proved  that  it  is  better  to  loan 
the  students  money  than  to  give  it  to  them.  To 
pay  it  back  increases  their  self-respect.  They 
are  permitted  to  have  the  fund  five  years  without 
interest.  After  that  period  they  pay  it,  and  so 
the  fund  now  amounts  to  over  $25,000. 

Closing  this  sketch,  it  may  be  said  that  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  became  known  as  the  ''Boy 
Preacher."  In  the  memoirs  of  Alexander  Camp- 
bell it  is  said  that  he  was  quite  low  in  stature, 
but  erect  in  carriage.  His  head  was  large  and 
finely  formed ;  his  eyes  prominent,  full  and  spark- 
ling; his  features  regular,  with  a  mouth  some- 
w^hat  large,  but  firmly  set,  while  in  his  bearing 
he  was  remarkably  self-possessed,  dignified  and 
courteous,  giving  himself  whoUy  to  the  cause  of 

141 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


C.  A.  McDonald  L.  O.  Newcomer  A.  B.  Roberteon 

SOME  PSESENT-DAY  OHIO  MINISTEES 
142 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  Restoration.  After  a  few  years  he  became 
one  of  its  most  distin^ished  and  successful 
advocates,  delighting  large  audiences  by  his  elo- 
quent and  copious  diction,  and  his  able  presenta- 
tions of  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  which  he 
widely  disseminated,  not  only  in  Cincinnati,  but 
through  many  of  the  States  from  Maryland  and 
Virginia  to  Kansas. 

1823— A.  D.  FiLLMOEi^I870 

Augustus  Damon  Fillmore  was  born  Sept.  7, 
1823,  near  Gallipolis,  0.  "While  he  was  yet  in  his 
youth,  his  father  moved  to  Fulton,  then  some 
distance  from  Cincinnati,  but  now  a  part  of  the 
city.  At  a  meeting  held  in  Fulton  in  1842,  in  the 
old  market-house,  he  confessed  the  Saviour  and 
obeyed  the  gospel.  His  parents  were  Methodists 
of  strict  sect.  His  father  was  so  incensed  that, 
for  some  years  after  Augustus  was  immersed, 
he  would  not  speak  to  him.  But  he  entered  the 
service  of  Christ  in  *'the  full  assurance  of  faith" 
and  wavered  not  on  account  of  the  paternal  dis- 
favor. 

He  had  been  a  teacher  of  music  about  three 
years  when  he  obeyed  the  gospel.  His  education, 
though  not  classical,  was  good  for  that  day.  His 
tongue  was  ''as  the  pen  ojf  a  ready  writer,"  and 
his  manner  exceedingly  winning;  and,  being  full 
of  zeal  for  the  cause  in  which  he  had  enlisted 
with  all  his  heart,  he  soon  began  to  speak  in  the 
church.  He  constantly  grew  in  power  and  use- 
fulness until,  in  1851,  his  ability  was  so  clearly 
demonstrated  that  he  was  ordained.  He  never 
adopted  the  ministry  as  his  profession,  but, 
through  a  good  providence  of  God,  was  led  into 
the  work  and  became  a  good  minister  of  Christ, 

10  143 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


nourished  up  in  the  words  of  faith  and  of  good 
doctrine.  He  was  an  earnest,  sonnd  and  stolid 
preacher,  turned  many  to  righteousness,  and  in- 
structed the  saints  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

But  the  beloved  Fillmore's  talent  lay  in  Ms 
musical  skill  and  ability.  He  was  a  sweet  singer 
in  Israel.  In  a  quiet,  unpretending  way  he  fol- 
lowed up  all  the  general  convocations  of  the  dis- 
ciples, ever  ready  for  what  he  could  do,  but  never 
thrusting  himself  forward.  If  he  had  been  strong 
in  body  to  carry  out  the  conceptions  of  his  musi- 
cal genius,  his  wotild  without  doubt  have  been  the 
music  of  the  whole  body  of  disciples.  As  it  is, 
his  soul-stirring  melodies  are  favorites  in  hun- 
dreds of  congregations,  while  scores  of  music- 
teachers  minister  instruction  in  "the  divine  art" 
as  they  learned  it  from  him. 

Fillmore  began  to  manifest  musical  talent  at 
a  very  early  period.  When  only  two  or  three 
years  old,  and  before  he  could  sing  any  words, 
he  would  sit  on  his  father's  knee  and  sing  the 
soprano  of  several  simple  tunes  while  his  father 
sang  bass.  When  sixteen  he  began  to  teach 
music :  two  or  three  years  later  he  began  to  com- 
pose music.  The  "Song  of  Steam"  and  "Song 
of  the  Lightning"  were  great  favorites.  The 
"Old  Brown  Homestead"  and  "The  Wandering 
Boy"  demonstrate  the  scope  of  his  genius  and 
ability.  The  first  two  mentioned  were  sung  with 
fervor  and  approbation  by  James  Challen  and 
Silas  W.  Leonard.  These  two  men  were  musical 
preachers,  and  no  doubt  they  turned  his  attention 
at  an  early  day  to  sacred  music. 

"The  Christian  Psalmist"  appeared  when  he 
was  only  twenty-four  years  of  age.  It  had  a 
more  general  circulation  than  any  other  of  his 

144 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


publications.  It  met  a  great  want  and  appeared 
without  a  rival.  "The  Harp  of  Zion"  and  ''The 
Christian  Psaltery"  were  of  great  merit,  even 
superior  to  **The  Psahnist."  After  giving  up 
the  musical  notation  of  Mr.  Harrison,  he  used 
round  notes.  Among  his  other  publications  may 
be  mentioned  ''The  Nightingale,"  in  1857,  for 
singing-schools.  "The  Christian  Choralist"  in 
1863,  and  "The  Harp  of  Zion"  in  1864,  books  of 
church  music.  For  the  Sunday  school  he  pub- 
lished in  1863  "The  Polyphonic,"  and  "The 
Little  Minstrel"  and  "Violet"  in  1867. 

In  1870  he  was  residing  on  a  farm  fourteen 
miles  east  of  Cincinnati,  where,  on  the  5th  day 
of  June,  he  closed  his  labors  on  earth  and  went 
over  the  river  to  join  with  other  redeemed  spirits 
in  songs  of  praise  round  the  great  white  throne. 

Mr.  Fillmore  issued  at  one  time  a  periodical 
entitled  "The  Gem  and  Musician,"  devoted  to 
musical  literature.  Also  he  published  "The  Tem- 
perance Musician,"  a  book  which  was  devoted  to 
temperance  songs  and  glees.  His  illustrious 
son,  J.  H.  Fillmore,  inherits  the  musical  genius 
of  his  father,  and  publishes  many  books  of  music 
for  society  and  the  church. 


145 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Dr.  E.  A.  Lodge  J.  H.  Lockwood  Henry  S.  Bosworth 

SOUTHEKN  OHIO  PIONEERS 
14e 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XV 


MUSIC 


HE  pioneer  leaders  were  interested  in  hym- 


nology  and  music.  John  Henry  was  a  band 
leader,  playing  on  many  kinds  of  instruments. 
When  he  became  a  disciple  he  gave  his  great 
ability  to  further  the  interests  of  the  church. 
William  and  A.  S.  Hayden  were  lovers  of  music 
and  leaders  in  singing.  A.  S.  Hayden  published 
music-books :  ' '  The  Hymnist, "  '  *  The  Melodeon, ' ' 
and  perhaps  other  works.  A.  D.  Fillmore,  of 
Cincinnati,  published  many  music-books.  The 
Fillmore  brothers  carried  on  the  publishing  busi- 
ness, issuing  "The  Praise  Hymnal,"  which  had 
a  large  sale  in  other  States  as  well  as  in  Ohio. 
The  church  hymnals  and  music  adapted  to  the 
Bible  schools  is  a  feature  of  this  publishing- 
house.  The  Standard  Publishing  Company  has 
also  printed  various  music-books  for  church  and 
Bible  schools.  Jessie  Brown  Pounds  is  the 
author  of  a  long  list  of  beautiful  hymns. 

In  early  times  it  was  said:  "The  disciples 
sing  people  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Re- 
ligious reformations  have  always  been  accompa- 
nied by  musical  revivals.  Music  is  the  language 
of  the  emotions  and  commands  the  emotions,  and, 
when  accompanied  by  appropriately  selected 
words,  is  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  religious  move- 
ments. 

Before  hymn-books  were  multiplied,  the  min- 


147 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


centeaIj  c'Heistian  chtjbch,  ninth  street, 
cincinnati,  ohio 


148 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


ister  would  line  out  the  hymns — two  lines  at  a 
time — and  everybody  would  try  to  sing.  Evident- 
ly, in  these  olden  times,  there  was  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  words  than  in  the  solo  vocaliza- 
tions of  modern  times. 

The  leader  of  singing  in  olden  times  guessed 
at  the  pitch  of  his  tune  and  sometimes  became 
bewildered.  It  is  related  of  one  leader  that,  when 
the  minister  gave  out  the  hymn,  love  to  steal 
awhile  away,"  the  leader  started,  love  to 
steal,"  and  repeated  it  three  times  and  then 
failed,  and  the  minister  is  reported  to  have  said, 
''Considering  the  propensities  of  our  brother,  let 
us  pray." 

Tuning-forks  were  adopted  to  give  the  correct 
pitch  of  tunes.  Later,  organs  were  introduced 
as  aids  in  singing.  Some  opposed  the  use  of 
instruments  in  church  worship. 

An  edition  of  **The  Living  Oracles"  was  pub- 
lished by  Alexander  Campbell,  and  bound  with  it 
were  many  hymns.  He  also  published  a  hymn- 
book  which  was  finally  turned  over  to  the  Ameri- 
can Christian  Missionary  Society,  so  that  it 
would  enjoy  the  profits  of  the  sale  to  enlarge  its 
missionary  work. 

When  instruments  began  to  be  used  they  came 
through  the  Bible  schools.  The  young  people 
started  Bible  schools  in  opposition  to  many  con- 
servatives in  the  church.  The  young  people  who 
started  and  managed  the  schools  used  instru- 
ments as  aids  in  singing,  and  the  music  was  so 
much  improved  that  the  churches  gradually  ad- 
mitted them  as  aids  in  worship.  At  first  they 
would  not  allow  them  to  be  used  at  the  time  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  but  later  they  were  used  in 
singing  at  all  times.     Lidividuals  and  whole 

149 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


chnrclies  objected  to  the  nse  of  instrumeiits. 
They  declared  them  to  be  mnovations  and  wor- 
shiping the  Lord  by  machinery.  The  discussion 
of  the  music  question  continued  for  years,  and, 
while  the  question  is  settled  in  the  minds  of 
many,  some  continue  to  object  to  their  use.  Those 
who  use  them  declare  they  are  only  aids  in 
worship  the  same  as  a  meeting-house.  The  dis- 
ciples being  congregationalists,  each  church  set- 
tles this  question  for  itself.  Those  who  oppose 
the  use  of  instruments  do  not  cut  themselves  off 
from  the  fellowship  of  Christ,  and  continue  to 
sing  with  the  spirit  and  understanding  without 
the  viol  or  organ.  Instruments  or  no  instru- 
ments, the  general  verdict  is  "we  be  brethren," 
and  these  matters  of  expediency  shall  not  keep 
us  from  the  Lord  or  one  another. 

In  the  early  days  among  the  disciples  they 
did  not  call  their  special  evangelistic  meetings 
revivals.  They  chose  to  call  them  meeting  of 
days,"  or  protracted  meetings.  Preachers  were 
scarce,  and  these  meetings  were  usually  of  short 
duration.  The  churches  were  mostly  in  the  coun- 
try. The  leaders  in  the  congregation  would 
arrange  for  bringing  those  who  had  no  teams  to 
the  meetings.  At  the  appointed  time  large  loads 
of  people  would  come  from  all  directions  and  the 
assembly-room  would  be  filled.  The  pioneers 
would  laugh  at  "the  close  communion"  buggies 
of  modem  times.  Steam-cars,  trolley  lines  and 
automobiles  were  unknown  to  the  forefathers. 
Even  the  villages  had  inferior  sidewalks,  but  the 
people  were  eager  to  hear  the  word  of  God 
preached  and  sung,  so  they  came  and  pressed  up 
to  the  pulpit  end  of  the  assembly-room.  They 
brought  their  Bibles,  and  watched  the  quotations 

150 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


G.  W.  Muckley  B   J.  Radford  A.  N.  Gilbert 

MTNISTEES  OF  CINCINNATI 

151 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


made  by  the  minister  and  verified  all  that  they 
received. 

Walter  Scott  was  the  first  evangelist  among 
the  disciples  in  Ohio.  He  took  "William  Hayden 
■vrith  him  as  a  helper  and  singer.  Scott  himself 
vras  a  singer.  It  is  reported  of  him  that,  when 
yonng,  he  sang  on  the  streets  in  a  city  and  col- 
lected a  cro^vd  of  listeners,  and  then  \ronld  take 
a  collection  for  a  poor,  nnfortnnate  man. 

An  evangelistic  team  of  preacher  and  singer 
was  started  in  1885  by  Alanson  Wilcox,  then  sec- 
retary of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society. 
J.  Y.  Updike  and  J.  E.  Hawes  constitnted  the 
team,  with.  Wilcox  as  manager.  They  "were  snc- 
cessfnl,  and  soon  this  method  of  evangelizing 
extended  to  other  States. 

Congregational  singing  is  the  ideal  music  for 
worship  and  evangelizing.  It  is  imagined  by 
many  that  there  will  be  mnch  singing  in  heaven 
to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God.  It  is  well,  then, 
to  practice  singing  in  this  world. 

While  congregational  singing  is  the  ideal 
mnsic  for  the  worship  of  God,  choirs  to  lead  in 
snch  music  have  been  organized  in  many  congre- 
gations of  disciples  of  Christ.  Anthems  are 
often  used  by  the  choir  in  worship.  Solos  are 
presented  by  skilled  and  trained  voices,  and  they 
are  useful  in  protracted  evangelistic  meetings. 

The  Ftlkmobe  Bbothees 

The  music-house  called  "The  Fillmore  Broth- 
ers" was  established  in  June,  1874,  in  Cincinnati, 
0.  The  firm  consisted  of  J.  H.  Fillmore,  the 
eldest  son  of  A.  D.  Filhnore,  and  Frank  Fillmore, 
the  next  oldest  son.  Their  first  publication  was 
a  Sunday-school  song-book  entitled  "Songs  of 

152 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Glory."  TMs  publication  was  issued  at  the  birth 
of  the  firm.  The  book  was  very  successful,  and 
was  followed  by  other  Sunday-school  and  gospel 
song-books,  also  books  for  singing-schools  and 
conventions,  temperance  and  prohibition  song- 
books,  anthem-books  and  church-music  books. 

In  1882  they  issued  a  church  hymnal  called 
''The  New  Christian  Hymn  and  Tune  Book."  It 
became  the  immediate  hymnal  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  is  used  widely  at  the  present  time 
—1916. 

In  1896  they  issued  "The  Praise  Hymnal," 
by  Gilbert  J.  Ellis  and  J.  H.  Fillmore,  which  was 
revised  and  enlarged  in  1906,  and  is  widely  used 
among  the  disciples  of  Christ  at  the  present  day. 

In  the  year  1902  the  Fillmore  brothers  were 
organized  into  The  Fillmore  Brothers  Company, 
an  Ohio  State  corporation.  A  couple  of  years 
later  they  bought  out  the  A.  Squire  band  and 
orchestra  music-house,  and  from  that  date  have 
been  the  publishers  of  band  and  orchestra  music, 
and  dealers  in  band  and  orchestra  instruments, 
in  addition  to  being  general  publishers  of  aU 
kinds  of  vocal  music.  The  Fillmore  Brothers 
Company  consisted  of  the  brothers  of  the  FiU- 
more  family,  as  follows :  J.  H.  Fillmore,  Fred  A. 
Fillmore  and  Chas.  M.  Fillmore.  L.  C.  Fillmore, 
the  son  of  C.  L.  Fillmore,  has  been  with  the  firm 
as  general  manager  since  1877.  He  is  now  a 
stockholder.  Among  the  stockholders  at  present, 
in  addition  to  the  above  named,  are  the  children 
of  J.  H.  Fillmore,  also  Herbert  L.  FiUmore,  son 
of  Fred  A.,  and  a  number  of  employees  of  the 
Fillmore  Music  House.  The  business  has  grown 
steadily,  and  it  ranks  among  the  popular  music- 
houses  of  the  United  States. 

153 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  Fillmores  are  the  publishers  of  an 
anthem  monthly  called  The  Choir,  also  a  band 
and  orchestra  musical  magazine  called  the  Musi- 
cal Messenger. 

Campbell  and  Owen 

In  1829,  Alexander  Campbell  met  Robert 
Owen,  the  Scotch  Socialist,  in  debate  in  Cincin- 
nati. Mr.  Owen,  managing  mills  in  Glasgow,  had 
become  wealthy,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
to  propagate  his  "Social  System."  He  had 
established  a  community  at  New  Harmony,  Ind., 
and  had  predicted  that  in  three  years  it  would 
depopulate  Cincinnati.  The  Government  of  Mex- 
ico had  offered  him  a  tract  of  land  150  miles 
broad,  which  included  California,  in  which  he 
might  exhibit  his  "Social  System."  Mr.  Owen's 
plans  were  for  men's  material  interests  and 
devoid  of  God.  He  undertook  to  prove  that 
religion  is  the  greatest  bar  to  the  supreme  happi- 
ness of  the  world,  and  that  man  is  the  creature 
of  his  environment.  Mr.  Campbell  had  accepted 
his  challenge  for  a  discussion  of  his  infidel, 
humanitarian  theories.  In  view  of  the  many 
different  forms  of  skepticism  prevailing,  and  of 
the  false  views  entertained  respecting  Chris- 
tianity itself,  his  purposes  took  a  much  wider 
range,  and  he  resolved  to  demonstrate,  from  his 
own  point  of  view,  the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible 
and  the  simplicity,  truthfulness  and  saving  power 
of  the  apostolic  gospel. 

The  attendance  at  the  debate  was  immense. 
Owen  claimed  he  had  discovered  certain  laws  of 
human  nature,  a  knowledge  of  which  would,  he 
thought,  abolish  religion,  marriage  and  private 
property.    Ignorance  of  these  laws,  he  declared, 

154 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


had  caused  the  vice  and  misery  of  manMnd.  He 
then  commenced  reading  a  manuscript  two  hun- 
dred pages  long,  in  which  he  concluded  that  all 
religions  are  founded  in  error  and  opposed  to  the 
laws  of  himaan  nature  he  had  discovered.  Mr. 
Campbell  showed  that  the  idea  of  God  had  been 
revealed,  and  when  the  time  came  in  which  he 
was  unlimited  as  to  time,  he  occupied  twelve 
hours  in  all,  and  gave  a  view  of  the  nature  and 
evidences  of  Christianity  which,  for  cogency  of 
argument,  comprehensive  reach  of  thought  and 
eloquence,  has  never  been  surpassed,  if  ever 
equaled.  He  showed  that  man  is  not  a  mere 
creature  of  circumstances,  that  he  has  the  power 
to  will  and  to  act  upon  his  decisions,  and  that 
the  gratification  of  temporal  wants  fails  to  con- 
fer happiness.  He  closed  the  debate  as  follows: 
Religion — the  Bible;  what  treasures  untold 
reside  in  that  heavenly  word!  Religion  has  given 
meaning  and  design  to  all  that  is  past,  and  is 
as  the  moral  to  the  fable,  the  good,  the  only  good, 
of  the  whole — the  earnest  now  of  an  abundant 
harvest  of  future  and  eternal  good.  Whence  has 
been  derived  your  most  rapturous  delights  on 
earth?  Have  not  the  tears,  the  dews  of  religion 
in  the  soul  afforded  you  incomparably  more  joy 
than  all  the  fleshly  gayeties,  than  all  the  splendid 
vanities,  than  the  loud  laugh,  the  festive  song  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  flesh?  Even  the 
alternations  of  hope  and  fear,  of  joy  and  sorrow, 
of  which  the  Christian  may  be  conscious  in  his 
ardent  race  of  a  glorious  immortality,  afforded 
more  true  bliss  than  ever  did  the  sparkling  gems, 
the  radiant  crown  or  the  triumphal  arch  be- 
stowed by  the  gratitude  or  admiration  of  a 
nation  on  some  favorite  child  of  fortune  or  of 

155 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


fame.  Whatever  comes  from  religion  comes 
from  God.  The  greatest  joys  desirable  to  mortal 
man  come  from  this  source.  Worlds  piled  on 
worlds,  to  fill  the  universal  scope  of  my  imagina- 
tion, would  be  a  miserable  per  contra  against  the 
annihilation  of  the  idea  of  God,  the  Supreme.  It 
is  a  mystery  to  me  how  any  good  man  could  wish 
there  was  no  God.  When  the  idea  of  God  the 
Almighty  departs  from  the  earth,  not  only  the 
idea  of  virtue,  of  moral  excellence,  but  of  all 
rational  enjoyment,  departs.  Teach  me  to  think 
that  I  am  the  creature  of  chance,  and  to  it  alone 
indebted  for  all  that  I  am,  was,  and  ever  shall  be, 
and  I  see  nothing  in  the  universe  but  mortifica- 
tion and  disappointment.  Death  is  as  desirable 
as  life;  and  no  one  creature  or  thing  is  more 
deserving  of  my  attention  and  consideration  than 
another. 

"But  as  well  might  Mr.  Owen  attempt  to 
fetter  the  sea,  to  lock  up  the  winds,  to  prevent 
the  rising  of  the  sun,  as  to  exile  the  idea  of  God 
from  the  human  race.  As  soon  could  a  child 
annihilate  the  earth  as  to  annihilate  the  idea  of 
God  once  suggested." 

At  the  close  Mr.  Campbell  took  a  vote,  asking 
all  who  believe  in  the  Christian  religion  to  rise. 
Nearly  all  the  congregation  rose;  only  three  rose 
on  the  negative  vote. 


156 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


N.  Zulch  L.  G.  Walker  James  Vernon 

MORE  RESTORATION  MINISTERS 
157 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XVI 

HISTORIC  DEDICATION  SERMON  DELIVERED 
BY  J.  S.  WEST  AT  LIBERR^  CHAPEL, 
BROWN  COUNTY,  OHIO,  IN  1874 

DEETHREN  AND  FRIENDS :— Our  text  on 
this,  to  me,  very  solemn  and  important  occa- 
sion is  the  first  verse  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of 
Paul's  letter  to  the  Hebrews:  ''Wherefore  seeing 
we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud 
of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
the  sin  that  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us 
run  with  patience  the  race  set  before  us,  ever 
looking  to  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith." 

In  opening  our  new  house  for  worship  to-day, 
it  has  been  suggested  by  the  brethren  that  a  dis- 
course embodying,  to  some  extent  at  least,  the 
past  history  of  the  church  would  be  appropriate, 
and  the  duty  of  delivering  that  address  has  been 
assigned  to  me.  I  undertake  it  cheerfully,  as  I 
am  persuaded  that  the  subject  will  prove  mutual- 
ly interesting  to  us.  To  give  a  history  of  the 
church  here  will  necessitate  a  history  of  the 
neighborhood,  as  the  two  are  inseparably  inter- 
woven. Within  the  lifetime  of  some  who  are 
with  us  to-day,  the  country  surrounding  us  was 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  traversed  only  by  wild 
animals  and  wild  hunters.  To  the  country  imme- 
diately arotmd  us.  Providence  has  been  very 

158 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  EN"  OHIO 


lavish  in  his  gifts.  Perhaps,  in  its  virgin  state, 
no  more  fertUe  spot  conld  be  fonnd  anywhere. 
It  was  covered  with  the  greatest  variety  and 
best  of  timber,  abounded  in  limestone  and  pure 
limestone  water,  but,  above  all,  a  very  healthy 
location.  This  very  desirable  spot  received  its 
first  settlers  about  the  year  1800.  Almost  from 
its  first  settlement  this  vicinity  was  selected  as  a 
place  to  worship  God.  Ere  the  howl  of  the  wolf 
and  the  scream  of  the  panther  ceased  to  be  heard 
by  night,  the  primitive  inhabitants  were  wont  to 
meet  here  for  prayer  and  praise.  When  the 
mind  runs  back  over  the  past,  and  we  think  how 
long  and  continuously  God  has  been  worshiped 
here,  and  how  many  of  his  saints  have  spent 
their  lives  here  "battling  against  the  hosts  of 
sin" — have  here  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  and  gone 
to  that  recompense  of  reward — we  almost  feel 
like  uttering  the  sentiment  God  addressed  to 
Moses  at  the  bush:  *'Let  us  take  o&  our  shoes 
from  our  feet,  for  the  place  where  we  stand  is 
holy  ground."  For  if  God's  once  meeting  with 
Moses  hallowed  the  ground  where  they  met,  how 
much  more  is  this  a  hallowed  spot,  where,  we 
trust,  God  has  for  more  than  sixty  years,  almost 
every  Lord's  Day,  met  his  people  and  communed 
with  them.  We  may  at  least,  as  we  look  around 
us  here,  repeat  the  language  of  the  poet: 

"Where'er  we  tread,   'tis  haunted,  holy  ground." 

Among  the  first  settlers,  and  near  the  time 
mentioned,  were  John  Knox,  on  the  Pickerill 
farm;  Thomas  Hatfield,  on  that  now  occupied  by 
his  son  David;  Andrew  Dragoo,  on  that  now 
owned  by  John  Milligan;  John  McLaughlin,  on 
that   occupied   by  his    son   David;  Lawrence 

11  159 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Barney,  on  that  now  owned  by  John  Stevenson; 
George  Fisher,  whose  farm  just  beyond  Allen 
Abney's  is  now  unoccupied,  and  John  Dunlevy, 
the  Shaker  preacher,  where  Billy  Montgomery 
now  lives.  So  far  as  we  now  know,  the  first 
religion  taught  and  established  in  the  neighbor- 
hood was  that  of  the  Shakers.  This  was  first 
preached  in  Kentucky  and  some  parts  of  Ohio, 
about  the  year  1804.  Knox  was  with  them  and 
the  meeting-place  was  upon  his  farm.  Bryant 
the  poet  says: 

' '  The  groves  were  God 's  first  temples. ' ' 

The  first  meetings  here  were  in  the  groves 
and  private  houses.  Afterwards  a  very  primi- 
tive structure  was  erected  on  the  ground  now 
occupied  by  Sister  Pickerill's  house.  It  at  first 
consisted  of  a  log  pen,  built  perhaps  as  high  as 
one's  head,  floored  and  divided  into  two  apart- 
ments, in  one  of  which  the  men,  and  the  other  the 
women,  worshiped.  After  being  occupied  in  this 
condition  for  some  time,  it  was  completed  in  the 
form  of  a  house  and  covered. 

Perhaps  it  may  prove  interesting  to  some  to 
give  the  peculiar  faith  and  practice  of  the 
Shakers.  Their  doctrine,  as  given  by  B.  W. 
Stone,  was :  The  Christ  appeared  first  in  a  man, 
and  through  life  was  preparing  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, which  he  could  not  accomplish  till  his  second 
appearance  in  a  woman,  Anne  Lee,  who  was  now 
the  Christ  and  had  full  power  to  save.  They  had 
new  revelations,  superior  to  the  Scriptures,  which 
they  called  the  old  record,  which  old  record  they 
said  was  true,  but  was  superseded  by  the  new. 
They  denied  the  literal  resurrection  of  the  body 
from  the  grave.    They  said  the  resurrection  of 

160 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  body  meant  the  resurrection  of  Christ's  body, 
meaning  the  chnrch.  Their  elders  had  constant 
communication  and  conversation  with  angels  and 
all  departed  saints.  They  looked  for  no  other  or 
better  heaven  than  that  upon  earth.  They  prom- 
ised the  greatest  blessings  to  the  obedient,  but 
certain  danmation  to  the  disobedient.  They 
urged  the  people  to  confess  their  sins  to  them — 
especially  the  sin  of  matrimony — and  to  forsake 
them  all  immediately;  husbands  must  forsake 
their  wives  and  wives  their  husbands.  They 
claimed  to  work  miracles.  They  lived  together, 
and  had  all  things  common  entirely  under  the 
control  of  their  elders.  Their  worship  consisted 
in  voluntary  dancing  together.  They  assert  that 
their  dancing  is  the  token  of  the  great  joy  and 
happiness  of  the  new  Jerusalem  state,  and  de- 
notes the  victory  over  sin.  Some  may  feel  dis- 
posed to  criticize  them  severely.  But  we  should 
remember  they  flourished  here  during  a  period 
of  great  religious  excitement;  when  enthusiasm 
passed  current  for  religion  everywhere.  We 
should  remember  the  scenes  of  wild  excitement 
that  received  the  approval  and  encouragement 
of  the  Wesleys,  and  the  no  less  extravagant 
revivals  encouraged  by  the  Whitefields  and  Ed- 
wardses  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  culminating 
in  those  remarkable  exercises  at  Caneridge,  Ky., 
participated  in  by  Stone  and  others  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  We  should  also  remember  that, 
at  this  time,  religionists  almost  universally  rested 
their  hopes  of  salvation  more  upon  feelings  and 
impressions,  upon  visions  and  ecstasies,  than  upon 
an  honest  trust  in  Christ,  and  an  earnest  effort 
to  love  and  obey  him;  that  they  might  appropri- 
ate to  themselves  his  exceeding  great  and  pre- 

161 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


cions  promises.  "WTien  we  lose  confidence  in  the 
Word  of  eternal  tmth,  it  is  but  a  step  to  the 
wildest  vagaries.  Their  race  here,  as  a  religions 
body,  was  very  brief — beginning,  as  near  as  I  can 
ascertain,  about  1804,  and  ending  about  1810; 
covering  a  period  of  some  five  or  six  years.  Some 
sold  out  and  removed  elsewhere ;  others  lost  confi- 
dence in  them;  some  followed  them,  afterwards 
returning  to  their  families  and  friends.  Elnox 
sold  his  farm  to  Samuel  Pickerill,  who  removed 
with  his  family  from  Kentucky  to  this  place  in 
1810.  His  coming,  together  with  other  changes, 
wrought  an  entire  change  in  the  religion  of  the 
neighborhood. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  a  second  distinctly 
marked  era  in  the  religious  history  of  this  com- 
munity. The  closing  part  of  the  eighteenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  were 
marked  by  a  spirit  of  free  and  earnest  religious 
inquiry.  Established  institutions  rested  more 
upon  the  orthodoxy  of  their  faith  and  the  estab- 
lished forms  of  their  religion  than  upon  an  exhi- 
bition of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  The  rigidity  of 
their  creeds  and  the  bitterness  of  their  prejudices 
held  the  religious  parties  at  a  distance  from  each 
other.  Many  earnest  men  saw  and  deplored  the 
divisions  among  God's  people,  and  the  rancor 
of  party  spirit,  and  sought  for  a  remedy.  Ee- 
formers  arose  simultaneously,  without  concert,  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  These  arose  in 
the  East  among  the  Baptists,  among  the  Presby- 
terians in  the  "West,  and  the  Methodists  in  the 
South.  They  labored  at  first  to  reform,  to 
infuse  a  more  liberal  spirit  and  more  vital  piety 
into  the  parties  with  which. they  were  connected. 
In  this  they  generally  failed,  were  subjected  to 

162 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


discipline,  and  either  retired  or  were  excluded 
from  these  parties.  Prominent  among  these 
efforts  at  reformation  was  one  now  of  especial 
interest  to  us,  which  had  its  origin  among  the 
Presbyterians  of  Kentucky.  Barton  W.  Stone, 
born  in  Maryland,  reared  in  Virginia,  and  edu- 
cated in  North  Carolina,  migrated  to  Kentucky, 
and  as  the  Presbyterian  minister  settled  in 
Bourbon  County,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1796. 

In  1798  he  received  a  call  from  the  united 
churches  of  Caneridge  and  Concord.  During  his 
theological  studies  his  mind  became  much  exer- 
cised over  some  points  of  doctrine  he  was  re- 
quired to  receive.  He  was  led,  after  much 
anxiety,  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  the  word 
of  God,  and  to  fearlessly  follow  where  it  led. 
He  accepted  the  call  from  the  above-named 
churches  and  a  day  was  set  for  his  ordination.  At 
his  ordination,  by  the  rules  of  the  church,  he  was 
required  to  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  as  the 
system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Bible.  When 
the  presbytery  met  and  the  above  question  was 
proposed,  he  answered:  "I  do,  as  far  as  I  see 
it  to  be  consistent  with  the  word  of  God."  Not- 
withstanding this  qualification,  influenced  by  his 
known  and  earnest  piety,  he  was  ordained.  Soon 
after  his  ordination  he  became  much  perplexed 
over  the  doctrine  of  Calvinism.  After  much 
study  and  many  prayers,  he  says:  "I  was  re- 
lieved from  my  perplexity  by  the  precious  word 
of  God.  From  reading  and  meditating  upon  it, 
I  became  convinced  that  God  did  love  the  whole 
world,  and  the  reason  why  he  did  not  save  all 
was  because  of  their  unbelief;  and  that  the 
reason  why  they  believed  not,  was  not  because 
God  did  not  exert  his  physical  almighty  power 

163 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


in  tliem,  to  make  them  believe,  but  because  tliey 
neglected  and  received  not  Ms  testimony  given 
in  the  word  concerning  his  Son.  'These  are 
written,  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  believing,  ye  might 
have  life  through  his  name.'  I  saw  that  the 
requirement  to  believe  in  the  Son  of  God  was 
reasonable,  because  the  testimony  was  sufficient 
to  produce  faith  in  the  sinner,  and  the  invitations 
and  encouragements  of  the  gospel  were  sufficient, 
if  believed,  to  lead  men  to  the  Saviour  for  the 
promised  Spirit,  salvation  and  eternal  life.  This 
glimpse  of  faith,  of  truth,  was  the  first  divine 
ray  of  light  that  ever  led  my  distressed,  per- 
plexed mind  from  the  labyrinth  of  Calvinism  and 
error  in  which  I  had  been  so  long  bewildered.  It 
was  that  which  led  me  into  rich  pastures  of 
gospel  liberty." 

There  were  at  this  time  five  preachers  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  who  were  in  accord  in  their 
preaching.  They  were  Richard  McNemar,  John 
Thompson,  John  Dunlevy,  Robert  Marshall  and 
B.  W.  Stone — three  in  Ohio  and  two  in  Kentucky. 
David  Purviance,  then  a  candidate  for  the  minis- 
try, was  in  sympathy  with  them.  Stone  says 
the  distinguishing  doctrine  preached  by  us  was : 
''That  God  loved  the  world — the  whole  world — 
and  sent  his  Son  to  save  them,  on  condition  that 
they  believed  in  him;  that  the  gospel  was  the 
means  of  salvation,  but  that  this  means  would 
never  be  effectual  to  this  end  until  believed  and 
obeyed  by  us ;  that  God  required  us  to  believe  in 
his  Son  and  had  given  us  sufficient  evidence  in 
his  word  to  produce  faith  in  us,  if  attended  to 
by  us;  that  sinners  were  capable  of  understand- 
ing and  believing  this  testimony,  and  of  acting 

164 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


upon  it  by  coming  to  the  Saviour  and  obeying 
him,  and  from  him  obtaining  salvation  and  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  urged  upon  the  sinner  to  be- 
lieve now,  and  receive  salvation — that  in  vain 
they  looked  for  the  Spirit  to  be  given  them  while 
they  remained  in  unbelief.  They  must  believe 
before  the  Spirit  or  salvation  would  be  given 
them;  that  God  was  as  willing  to  save  them  now 
as  he  ever  was  or  ever  would  be;  that  no  previ- 
ous qualification  was  required  or  necessary  in 
order  to  believe  in  Jesus  and  come  to  him;  that 
if  they  were  sinners,  this  was  their  divine  war- 
rant to  believe  in  him  and  come  to  him  for  salva- 
tion; that  Jesus  died  for  all,  and  that  all  things 
were  now  ready." 

Of  the  effects  of  this  preaching,  Stone  further 
says:  ''The  people  appeared  as  if  just  awakened 
from  the  sleep  of  ages;  they  seemed  to  see  for 
the  first  time  that  they  were  responsible  beings, 
and  that  a  refusal  to  use  the  means  appointed 
was  a  damning  sin.  They  preached  these  doc- 
trines with  much  success  among  the  people,  until 
they  excited  hostility  among  the  rigidly  orthodox 
of  their  brethren.  McNemar  was  arraigned  upon 
a  charge  of  heresy,  and  seeing  he  would  be  con- 
demned, and  they  would  suffer  a  like  condemna- 
tion one  by  one,  they  withdrew  in  a  body  from 
the  presbytery  and  constituted  a  new  one  of 
their  own,  styled  the  Springfield  Presbytery. 
But,  seeing  their  position  to  be  an  inconsistent 
one,  they,  in  less  than  a  year,  willed  its  dis- 
solution. We  quote  some  of  the  items  of  the 
last  will  and  testament  of  the  Springfield  Pres- 
bytery : 

''Item:  We  will  that  our  name  of  distinction, 
with  its  reverend  title,  be  forgotten;  that  there 

165 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


be  but  one  Lord  over  God's  heritage  and  his 
name  one. 

**Item:  We  "will  that  this  body  die,  be  dis- 
solved and  sink  into  union  with  the  body  of 
Christ  at  large,  for  there  is  but  one  body  and 
one  spirit,  even  as  we  are  called  in  one  hope  of 
our  calling. 

''Item:  We  will  that  the  people  henceforth 
take  the  Bible  as  their  only  sure  guide  to  heaven, 
and  as  many  as  are  offended  with  other  books 
which  stand  in  competition  with  it,  may  cast 
them  into  the  fire  if  they  choose,  for  it  is  better 
to  enter  into  life  having  one  book,  than  having 
many  books  to  be  cast  into  hell." 

We  now  quote  from  a  sermon  by  John  A. 
Gano,  delivered  at  Caneridge,  upon  the  death  of 
Stone.  ''The  first  churches  planted  and  organ- 
ized since  the  grand  apostasy  with  the  Bible  as 
the  only  creed  or  church  book,  and  the  name 
'Christian'  as  the  only  family  name,  were  organ- 
ized in  Kentucky,  in  1804.  Of  these,  Caneridge 
was  the  first.  Let  us  pause  here  for  a  moment 
to  contemplate  the  high,  the  holy,  the  exalted 
stand  taken  by  these  pioneers  in  the  cause  of 
gospel  truth  and  liberty.  As  if  breathing  the 
same  spirit  which  animated  the  primitive  saints, 
we  see  them  rising  superior  to  the  traditions  of 
ages,  and  losing  sight  of  all  humanisms  in  re- 
ligion; their  eyes  fixed  on  God's  holy  word,  they 
pant  for  the  divine  order;  under  the  guidance  of 
heaven-born  truth,  they  are  led  to  original — to 
primitive,  to  holy  ground.  Having  tasted  of  the 
good  word  of  the  Lord  and  made  to  drink  into 
his  spirit — made  free,  indeed — they  desire  to  see 
others  blessed."  We  make  these  liberal  quota- 
tions because  Stone  and  his  coworkers  have  been 

166 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


much  misrepresented,  and  it  is  bnt  reasonable 
they  should  state  their  own  position.  Having  cut 
loose  from  all  humanisms,  their  only  standard  of 
appeal  the  Bible,  they,  of  course,  soon  became 
dissatisfied  with  their  baptism,  and  desired  im- 
mersion. The  Baptists  would  not  baptize  them, 
not  regarding  them  as  orthodox  in  the  faith. 
They  were  compelled  to  immerse  each  other;  this 
they  did.  Of  the  original  persons  engaged  in  this 
movement,  Marshall  and  Thompson  became  dis- 
satisfied and  returned  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church;  McNemar  and  Dunlevy  were  carried 
away  by  the  Shaker  delusion,  leaving  Stone  and 
Purviance  to  be  led  by  the  word  of  God  and 
their  honest  convictions.  They  were  strength- 
ened, however,  by  many  other  accessions. 

Among  the  earliest  preachers  were:  Samuel 
and  John  Rogers,  Archibald  Alexander,  William 
Kinkade,  David  Kirkpatrick,  James  Hughes, 
Nathan  Worley,  Reuben  Dooley,  David  Hatha- 
way, J ohn  Longley,  John  A.  Gano,  Mathew  Gard- 
ner and  many  others.  After  the  removal  of  the 
Shakers  and  the  coming  of  Pickerill,  in  1810, 
some  of  these  preachers  in  their  preaching  tours 
visited  the  vicinity  and  preached  to  a  people 
apparently  hungering  for  the  bread  of  life.  I 
gather  many  interesting  incidents  from  the  auto- 
biography of  Elder  Gardner.  From  him  we  learn 
that  his  father's  house  was  also  a  preaching- 
place.  Gardner  had  come  from  New  York,  with 
a  large  family,  in  the  year  1800,  and  settled  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  Wm.  Richey,  there  being 
then  but  three  cabins  in  a  radius  of  as  many 
miles.  But  the  settlers  came  in  fast  during  the 
first  ten  years,  so  that  considerable  congregations 
could  be  gathered  to  hear  the  Word  preached. 

167 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


T.  N.  Madden'  J.  S.  Lowe  James  S.  Riddle 

PIONEEK  PREACHERS  TO  WHOM  OHIO  OWES  MUCH 

168 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XVII 

HISTORIC  DEDICATION  SERMON— Continued 

IN  September  of  1810,  a  Christian  camp-meeting 
was  held  near  where  Bentonville  now  stands, 
Barton  W.  Stone  being  the  chief  speaker.  There 
Gardner  and  many  others  went  forward  and  con- 
fessed their  faith  in  Christ,  and  about  the  middle 
of  the  following  month  he  and  many  others  were 
baptized  by  Archibald  Alexander,  in  Eagle  Creek, 
below  where  the  old  road  crossed  the  creek.  So 
far  as  we  now  know,  this  was  the  first  baptism  in 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ, 
in  this  beautiful  stream.  Shortly  after  this,  a 
church  was  organized  by  Elder  Alexander,  bear- 
ing alone  the  name  "Christian,"  and  having  the 
word  of  God  alone  as  their  creed. 

I  have  no  means  at  hand  to  determine  exactly 
who  constituted  this  first  church.  If  its  records 
have  been  preseiVed,  I  know  not  who  have  them. 
We  know  that  some  members  of  the  Gardner, 
Devore,  Pickerill,  Eamey,  Ristine,  Hughes,  Fish- 
er, Reeves,  Hatfield  and  Longley  families  either 
were,  or  soon  after  became,  members  of  the 
church.  Elder  Alexander  preached  for  the  newly 
organized  church  for  a  time.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  1812,  John  Longley,  then  of  Ken- 
tucky, began  to  preach  for  the  church — was 
chosen  its  pastor,  and  soon  after  removed  to 
Ohio,  and  settled  in  Decatur.  He  continued  to 
preach  for  the  church  for  about  six  years.  About 

169 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  year  1816  there  was  held  quite  a  revival 
meeting  in  a  peach  orchard,  near  the  upper  end 
of  the  present  burying-ground.  At  that  meeting 
Lovel  Pickerill  and  many  others  were  converted. 
The  church  became  so  much  strengthened  as  to 
determine  upon  building  a  house  of  worship. 
This  was  a  work  of  great  magnitude,  considering 
the  condition  of  the  church  and  neighborhood; 
the  country  was  but  then  settling  up ;  most  of  the 
people  were  poor,  having  little  but  their  lands, 
and  these  but  partially  cleared.  They  received 
no  sympathy  or  encouragement  from  their  relig- 
ious neighbors.  Added  to  this,  a  general  finan- 
cial prostration  followed  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  of  1812,  from  which  the  country  had  not  yet 
recovered.  These  considerations  rendered  it 
almost  a  matter  of  wonder  that  they  should 
undertake,  and  carry  on  to  conclusion,  such  a  work 
as  the  erection  of  the,  to  us  now,  old  Liberty 
Stone  meeting-house.  That  they  did  it  under 
these  circumstances  reflects  great  credit  upon 
our  fathers  in  the  church  and  their  neighbors  who 
assisted  them.  The  work  was  undertaken  and 
carried  on  to  a  successful  termination  in  the 
year  1817.  The  neighbors,  church-members  and 
others  turned  out  with  teams  and  hauled  the 
stone  to  build  the  walls;  others  contributed 
money.  The  building  committee  consisted  of 
David  Devore,  Jephtha  Beasley  and  Samuel  Pick- 
erill. The  masons  who  built  the  walls  were 
Daniel  Copple  and  Joseph  Hughes;  Mathew 
Gardner  did  at  least  part  of  the  carpenter  work. 
The  work  was  one  involving  very  great  and 
arduous  labor.  The  walls  are  44  by  34  feet, 
2  feet  in  thickness ;  perhaps  12  feet  to  the  square ; 
gables  completed  with  stone  all  laid  in  lime  mor- 

170 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


tar.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  house,  the  build- 
ers, remembering  their  religious  freedom,  chris- 
tened it  "Liberty" ;  and  to  this  day  no  man  giving 
evidences  of  honesty  of  purpose  has  ever  been 
prevented  from  here  freely  expressing  what  he 
understood  the  word  of  God  to  teach.  Eternity 
only  can  disclose  the  influence  for  good  this 
building  has  had  upon  this  community.  To  stim- 
ulate others  to  well-doing,  I  will  state  that  some 
who  assisted  in  the  building  were  not  then,  nor 
ever  did  they  become,  members  of  the  church; 
yet,  their  labors  were  blest  to  the  good  of  their 
families.  As  an  instance,  Lawrence  Eamey  never 
was  himseK  a  member  of  the  church;  yet,  almost 
all  his  descendants,  even  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generations,  did  become  members. 

Immediately  after  the  building  of  the  house, 
the  church  passed  through  a  fiery  ordeal.  This 
trial  is  curtly  referred  to  by  Elder  Gardner  in 
his  biography.  The  preacher  turned  storekeeper; 
then  got  his  brethren  to  indorse  for  him;  then 
got  in  debt,  got  in  jail,  ruined  his  indorsers,  lost 
his  influence,  changed  his  religion,  joined  the 
Campbellites  and  left  the  country. 

It  is  but  just  to  the  memory  of  Father  Long- 
ley,  however,  to  state  that  he  continued  in  fellow- 
ship with  the  church  of  his  choice,  and  preached 
in  the  State  of  Indiana  till  his  death,  at  a  very 
advanced  age,  but  a  few  years-  since.  After 
Longley's  departure,  David  Hathaway  became 
the  minister  of  the  church. 

From  this  time  there  were  frequent  changes 
in  the  preachers.  Nothing  of  special  moment 
occurred  during  the  next  ten  or  twelve  years. 
About  the  year  1832  another  event  occurred 
which  marks  a  third  era  in  the  religious  history 

171 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  the  neighborhood  In  the  year  ISO"  Thomas 
Campbell  emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland 
and  settled  in  Washington  County,  Pa,  He  was 
a  minister  of  the  branch  of  the  Presbyterian 
Chtirch  known  as  Seceders,  and  a  man  of  ac- 
knowledged piety.  After  his  arrival,  he  minis- 
tered to  the  destitute  churches  of  his  order.  De- 
ploring the  distracted  condition  of  the  Christian 
world,  he  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  restore 
the  original  nnity  of  the  chnrch.  A  meeting  was 
called  at  Buffalo,  Pa.,  Aug.  17,  1809,  consisting 
of  persons  of  different  religious  denominations. 
After  full  conference,  it  was  agreed  to  form  an 
association,  to  be  called  the  Christian  Associa- 
tion of  Washington,  Pa.  The  sole  purpose  of 
this  organization  was  to  promote  simple  evan- 
gelical Christianity.  They  resolved  to  support 
those  teachers  only  who  taught  those  things 
alone,  as  a  matter  of  Christian  faith  or  duty, 
for  which  there  could  be  produced  a  '"'thus  saith 
the  Lord,"  either  in  expressed  terms  or  by  ai>- 
proved  precedents.  Just  on  the  eve  of  the  publi- 
cation of  their  principles,  Alexander  CampbelL 
having  spent  some  months  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  in  Scotland  followed  his  father  to  this 
country  and  arrived  at  Washingtom  He  heartily 
joined  in  the  effort  to  unite  the  churches  on  this 
simple  basis.  Several  things  inevitably  followed 
a  simple  reliance  upon  the  word  of  God:  1st,  The 
weekly  communion.  2nd  An  abandonment  of 
infant  baptism  and  infant  church  membership. 
3rd  That  immersion  in  water  upon  a  profession 
of  faith  in  Christ  alone  constituted  Christian 
baptism  On  the  12th  of  Jtme.  1S12.  father  and 
son,  together  with  several  members  of  the  con- 
gregation, previously  organized  at  Brush  Eun, 

172 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


were  immersed  in  Buffalo  Creek  by  Elder 
Mathias  Luse,  of  the  Baptist  Church.  The  church 
became  a  member  of  a  Baptist  association.  The 
Campbells  were  now  both  preachers  in  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  But  the  position  which  they  had 
assumed,  to  refer  all  matters  of  faith  or  prac- 
tice to  the  word  of  God,  and  which  had  led  them 
out  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  rendered  it  im- 
possible for  them  to  remain  in  the  Baptist 
Church,  and,  after  much  discussion  and  many 
gropings  after  light,  they  withdrew,  and  in  1823 
constituted,  at  Wellsburg,  W.  Va.,  simply  a 
church  of  Christ,  without  a  human  name  or  h 
human  constitution.  At  this  date  Alexander 
Campbell  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Chris- 
tian Baptist,  through  which  he  plead  for  a  restora- 
tion of  the  ancient  order"  of  things;  viz.,  the 
simple  teaching  and  practice  of  Christ  and  the 
apostles,  unmixed  with  human  tradition  or  human 
philosophy.  Alexander  Campbell,  being  a  fine 
scholar,  an  interesting  speaker,  an  able  disputant 
of  untiring  energy,  and,  above  all,  of  unblemished 
Christian  character  and  earnest  piety,  succeeded 
in  rapidly  disseminating  these  views.  Indeed,  the 
only  wonder  is  that  the^  were  not  universally  re- 
ceived. Many  preachers  in  Kentucky  and  other 
parts  of  the  country  (mostly  from  the  Baptists) 
united  with  him  in  his  efforts  at  reformation,  and 
during  the  period  from  1823  to  1832  many 
churches  were  organized. 

Among  the  leading  preachers  in  Kentucky 
were  John  Smith  and  John  T.  Johnson.  They 
saw  the  inconsistency  of  two  religious  parties, 
occupying  substantially  the  same  ground — both 
pleading  for  the  union  of  Christians  upon  the 
Bible  alone — remauiing  separate;  consequently 

173 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


they,  together  with  Stone,  who  recognized  the 
same  inconsistency,  determined,  if  possible,  to 
unite  the  two  parties,  and  thus  illustrate  the 
feasibility  of  the  union  for  which  they  strove. 
Stone  and  Johnson,  both  residing  in  Georgetown, 
Ky.,  were  the  leading  spirits  in  this  movement. 
To  accomplish  this  union,  Stone  associated  John- 
son with  him  as  co-editor  of  the  Christian  Mes- 
senger, a  paper  which  he  had  been  for  some  time 
publishing. 

They  determined,  in  order  to  effect  the  union 
which  both  earnestly  desired,  to  hold  two  union 
meetings  of  four  days  each — the  first  at  George- 
town, including  Christmas  Day  of  1831;  the 
second  at  Lexington,  including  New  Year's  Day 
of  1832.  The  first  was  preparatory,  the  second 
the  real  union  meeting.  At  that  meeting  were 
Stone,  Johnson,  Smith,  Rogers,  Elley,  Creath 
and  many  others.  It  was  arranged  that  one  from 
each  party  should  deliver  an  address  plainly  set- 
ting forth  his  conception  of  the  Scriptural 
ground  of  union  among  the  people.  John  Smith 
was  selected  by  the  one  party,  B.  W.  Stone  by 
the  other.  We  can  make  but  brief  extracts  from 
these  addresses.  Smith  spoke  first.  He  began: 
"God  has  but  one  people  upon  the  earth;  he  has 
given  them  but  one  book.  He  therein  exhorts 
and  commands  them  to  be  one  family.  An  amal- 
gamation of  sects  is  not  such  union  as  Christ 
prayed  for  or  God  enjoins.  In  regard  to  specu- 
lative subjects,  speak  only  in  Scriptural  lan- 
guage. We  may,  by  speaking  the  same  things, 
finally  come  to  think  the  same  things.  For 
several  years  past  I  have  stood  pledged  to  meet 
the  religious  world,  or  any  part  of  it,  on  the 
ancient  gospel  and  order  of  things  as  presented 

174 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


in  the  words  of  the  Book.  Let  ns  all  come  to 
the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  as  the  only  book 
in  the  world  which  can  give  ns  all  the  light  we 
need."  Stone  afterwards  spoke;  we  have  only- 
room  for  the  concluding  sentence:  "I  have  not 
one  objection  to  the  ground  laid  down  by  him,  as 
the  Scriptural  basis  of  union  among  the  people 
of  God;  and  I  am  willing  to  give  him  now  and 
here  my  hand. ' '  Of  this  union  it  is  truly  said  by 
the  historian,  the  brethren  of  Stone  did  not  join 
Campbell  as  their  leader,  nor  did  the  brethren 
of  Campbell  join  Stone  as  their  leader;  but  each, 
having  already  taken  Jesus  the  Christ  as  their 
only  leader,  in  love  and  liberty  became  one  body 
— not  Stoneites  or  Campbellites,  not  Christians 
or  disciples,  distinctively  as  such.  But  Chris- 
tians, disciples,  saints,  brethren  and  children  of 
the  same  Father. 

To  consummate  the  union  begun  here,  one 
from  each  party  was  chosen  to  travel  among  the 
churches.  John  Smith  and  John  Rogers  were 
respectively  chosen,  and  carried  forward  the 
work  to  a  successful  and  satisfactory  termina- 
tion. There  had  existed  for  some  time  a  Baptist 
church  at  Redoak,  which  had  for  its  pastor,  Jesse 
Holton.  As  early  as  1820  he  had  preached  at 
Liberty,  there  being  a  number  of  his  faith  in  the 
neighborhood.  Prominent  among  these  were  the 
Edwards,  Gceslin  and  West  families.  Prior  to 
the  year  1832,  the  church  and  its  preachers  had 
united  with  Campbell  in  his  reformatory  move- 
ment. I  can  not  give  the  exact  time  nor  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  union  was  effected 
here.  We  know  that  Hathaway  and  Longley  of 
the  one  party,  and  Holton  of  the  other,  heartily 
entered  into  the  union;  also  the  great  body  of 

12  175 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  clmrch  here,  with  many  in  the  neighborhood 
who  had  formerly  stood  with  the  Baptists.  The 
union  here  has  verified  Smith's  expectation  that, 
by  speaking  the  same  things,  we  would  eventually 
come  to  think  the  same  things.  Entertaining 
almost  every  opinion  from  the  most  ultra-Cal- 
vinism to  the  very  verge  of  Unitarianism,  by 
speaking  in  Scriptui'al  language  and  forbearing 
one  another  in  love,  perhaps  no  church  in  the 
land  has  had  less  doctrinal  disputation.  And 
perhaps  no  church  can  now  be  found  that  more 
perfectly  harmonizes  in  faith  and  opinion,  than 
this  church.  From  the  time  of  this  union,  the 
church  has  habitually  come  together  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week  to  break  bread.  Few 
churches  have  so  deliberately  pursued  the  even 
tenor  of  their  way  as  this.  There  has  been  no 
season  of  uncontrollable  religious  excitement  and 
none  of  great  religious  depression. 

John  Eamey,  Lovel  Pickerill  and  Florence 
Shoafstall  were  among  the  first  elders  of  the 
congregation.  After  them  came  William  N. 
Eamev,  Acklas  Geeslin,  T.  J.  Pickerill,  G.  E. 
Hatfield,  D.  B.  Hatfield,  R.  P.  Pisher  and  Joseph 
Still,  which  brings  us  to  our  present  organiza- 
tion. Those  who  from  time  to  time  have  minis- 
tered in  word  and  doctrine  were  Jesse  Holton, 
David  Hathaway,  John  Ross,  John  Rogers,  J.  B. 
Lucas,  John  Young,  David  ^homjDson,  B.  F. 
Sallee,  W.  D.  Moore,  and  your  speaker.  We  have 
received  the  occasional  ministrations  of  many 
others.  Chief  among  these  were  Aylette  Rains, 
John  Powell,  Otho  Pearre,  Samuel  Rogers,  Wil- 
liam and  Thomas  Pinkerton,  J.  L.  Thornberry 
and  0.  A.  Bartholomew.  The  church  has  existed 
for  sixty-three  years;  there  has  been  an  average 

176 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


membersMp  of  perhaps  seventy-five;  perhaps  an 
average  increase  per  year  of  ten,  which  will  give 
an  entire  membership  of  about  750.  The  church 
has  been  a  continual  leaven  in  the  community; 
which  has  been  evinced  by  a  steady  growth  in 
morality,  and  regard  for  religious  institutions 
throughout  the  neighborhood.  She  has  done 
much  in  the  cause  of  education.  About  thirty 
teachers  have  grown  up  under  her  influence;  she 
has  sent  out  some  six  preachers.  Two  churches 
have  sprung  up  under  her  influence — that  of 
Russellville,  organized  about  1843,  and  that  of 
Bethlehem,  soon  after.  Her  influence  for  good 
has  been  much  extended  by  the  emigration  of  her 
members  to  other  parts  of  the  country.  Her 
representatives  are  laboring  in  the  Master's 
cause  in  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and 
perhaps  other  States. 

The  change  in  the  public  road,  which  formerly 
ran  in  front  of  our  old  house,  rendered  it  very 
inconvenient  and  the  location  very  unsightly.  The 
old  house  needing  repairs,  the  church  determined 
to  build.  This  conclusion  was  reached  late  in 
May.  A  finance  committee  consisting  of  W.  H. 
H.  Edwards,  G.  Q.  Henry  and  Narval  Johnson 
was  appointed.  They  immediately  made  a  thor- 
ough canvass,  and  reported  so  encouragingly  that 
a  building  committee  consisting  of  G.  W.  Brown, 
J.  W.  Wilson,  E.  P.  Fisher,  S.  M.  Pickerill  and 
J.  S.  West  was  immediately  appointed.  They, 
after  due  deliberation,  gave  out  the  work  to 
Joseph  Gaily.  By  the  terms  of  the  contract,  he 
was  to  furnish  all  the  material,  build  and  furnish 
the  house.  This  very  neat  structure  is  the  result, 
which,  so  far  as  I  Imow,  renders  entire  satisfac- 

177 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


tion  to  all  concerned.  This  house  we  have  met 
to  devote  to  the  service  of  God.  Shall  we  now, 
brethren,  in  conclusion,  attempt  an  application  of 
our  text?  Paul  teaches  that  the  fact  that  others 
are  witnesses  of  our  efforts  should  stimulate  us 
to  lay  aside  all  hindrances  and  run  with  patience 
the  Christian  race.  He  represents  the  Christians 
as  upon  a  race-course,  and  all  the  ancient 
worthies  standing  around  interested  spectators  of 
their  running.  And  surely  the  known  presence 
of  those  who  have  achieved  renown  should  much 
stimulate  those  who  are  striving.  He  refers  his 
brethren  to  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  Sarah  and  Rahab,  as  those 
who  by  faith  have  served  God  acceptably  and 
entered  into  their  rest.  But  these  are  not  all; 
time  would  fail  me,  says  Paul,  to  tell  of  Gideon, 
Barak,  Samson,  Jephtha,  David,  Samuel  and  the 
prophets.  These  all  through  faith  have  obtained 
a  good  report.  God  speaks  well  of  them,  and 
angels  and  men  applaud  them.  But,  brethren, 
God  has  provided  some  better  things  for  ■  us. 
They  enjoyed  Christ's  glorious  kingdom  in  pros- 
pect ;  we  enjoy  it  as  a  reality.  If  Paul 's  brethren 
should  be  stimulated  by  these  heavenly  witnesses, 
how  much  more  we,  when  that  heavenly  company 
has  been  so  largely  increased.  Are  there  not  now 
with  them  Jesus,  our  blessed  Saviour,  before 
whom  all  knees  bow,  and  whom  all  tongues  honor, 
and  Peter  the  holder  of  the  keys,  and  Paul  our 
apostle,  and  Stephen  .the  martyr,  and  the  women 
with  the  sweet  spices?  And  may  we  not  hope, 
too,  that  all  those  grand  old  reformers  who  gave 
their  lives  for  the  truth  are  there?  But,  brethren 
and  sisters,  there  are  others  still  dearer  to  us 
who  swell  the  mighty  throng.    There  are  our 

178 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


fathers  and  our  mothers  in  the  church  and  in  the 
flesh.  These  all  have  died  in  faith,  and  now  look 
down  from  their  celestial  heights  upon  us,  desir- 
ing our  success.  Oh,  brethren,  let  us  imitate  the 
example  of  these  ancient  worthies;  let  us  from 
this  blessed  moment  lay  aside  every  weight  that 
hinders,  and  run  in  the  Master's  service.  If  we 
are  but  faithful,  great  is  our  reward  in  heaven. 

Brethren,  should  I  ever  get  to  heaven  (which 
I  hope  by  the  grace  of  God  to  do),  and  should  I 
behold  the  twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lord  upon 
twelve  thrones,  and  should  I  behold  near  the 
thrones  of  Peter  and  Paul  and  those  noble  old  re- 
formers, Luther,  Calvin  and  Wesley,  I  shall  expect 
to  see  Alexander  Campbell,  with  august  carriage 
and  mien  unabashed,  stand  in  the  noble  throng; 
and  shall  I  not  see  near  the  thrones  of  the  beloved 
disciples,  which  will  stand  next  the  Master 's,  those 
men  of  love,  Philip  Melancthon  and  Barton  W. 
Stone?  And  should  I  come  to  the  heavenly  gates, 
wearied  with  the  buffetings  of  the  cold  stream  of 
Jordan,  I  shall  expect  to  meet  old  Father  Pick- 
erill,  who  wiU  say:  "Come  with  me;  I  learned 
how  to  entertain  the  saints  in  the  old  world."  I 
shall  expect  to  see  Martha,  the  sister  of  Lazarus, 
and  old  Mother  Pickerill  busy  striving  to  add  to 
the  comfort  of  the  heavenly  inhabitants;  and 
shall  I  not  see  hard  by  the  feet  of  Jesus,  Sister 
Shoaf stall,  with  Mary  of  precious  memory;  and 
there  in  the  company  of  the  patriarchs  shall  I 
not  see  John  Ramey,  and  as  I  "walk  about  Jeru- 
salem," and  become  better  acquainted  in  the 
glorious  land,  if  there  be  any  part  of  heaven 
where  the  angels  sing  more  loudly  and  the  rap- 
tures are  more  intense  than  others,  there  I  confi- 
dently expect  to  see  Bro.  Geeslin,  Thomas  Pick- 

179 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


erill  and  W.  N.  Ramey;  and  if  there  should  be 
any  quiet  corner  away  from  the  bustle  of  bolder 
spirits,  where  the  angels  sing  their  sweetest 
songs,  there  I  shall  hear  the  voice  of  Wm.  F. 
Pickerill,  singing  with  the  melody  with  which  he 
only  could  sing  while  here  upon  earth. 

May  the  God  of  our  fathers  help  us  to  imitate 
their  faithfulness  so  long  as  he  shall  permit  us 
to  worship  here;  and  when  we  go  hence,  may  he 
say  to  each  one  of  us,  ''Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant;  enter  thou  into  the  joys  of  thy 
Lord." 


A.  B.  Wade  James  WiUiams  J.  S.  Ross 

SOME  FAITHFTJIj  MLNTSTEES 


IHO 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XVIII 

1798— WALTER  SCOTT— 1861 

£AELY  in  1831  Walter  Scott  visited  Cincinnati 
for  the  first  time.  For  four  years  he  had  been 
a  successful  evangelist,  most  of  the  time  in 
northeastern  Ohio,  and  his  health  was  impaired. 
He  preached  three  months  where  Elder  James 
Challen  had  been  preaching.  The  fame  of  Scott's 
preaching  preceded  him.  On  account  of  poor 
health  he  did  not  always  come  up  to  expecta- 
tions. He  asked  Elder  Challen  to  return  to 
Cincinnati.  He  removed  to  Carthage,  about 
eight  miles  north  of  Cincinnati.  Carthage  had 
but  few  things  at  that  time  to  make  it  an  inviting 
place  of  residence.  But  Scott  lived  there  thir- 
teen years  and  renovated  society,  planting  a 
good  church. 

On  his  first  visit  to  Carthage  he  went  into  a 
Sunday  school.  A  teacher  propounded  the  ques- 
tion: "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  A  bright 
girl  aged  thirteen  years  quoted  Peter's  answer: 
''Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  The  teacher  frowned  on  her. 
The  girl  cried.  The  superintendent  later  asked 
the  same  question.  The  girl  quoted  the  same 
Scripture  and  the  superintendent  frowned  on 
her. 

182 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Soon  after  this  Elder  Scott  preached  in  the 
village  schoolhouse;  the  little  girl  was  present, 
heard  Scott  preach  from  the  Scripture  she  had 
quoted,  and  saw  that  he  viewed  it  as  she  did. 
In  four  weeks  he  preached  again  in  a  barn.  The 
truth  as  it  came  from  his  lips  was  so  plain  and 
sweet  to  the  little  girl  that  she  confessed  her 
faith  in  Christ.  He  promised  to  baptize  her  at 
the  close  of  the  meeting.  Lifted  up  by  the  con- 
fession of  the  little  girl,  he  was  aroused,  gave 
an  exhortation,  and  six  men  arose  and  followed 
the  example  of  the  child.  These  were  the  first- 
fruits  of  a  great  harvest.  Many  of  the  most 
influential  citizens  in  the  vicinity  heard  and 
obeyed  the  gospel,  and  Carthage  became  famous 
for  temperance  and  right  religion. 

Among  the  converts  was  a  poor  fellow,  the 
most  hopeless  of  an  immoral  population.  A 
word-painter  pictures  him  and  Elder  Scott,  in 
part,  as  follows:  "Parker,  the  sinner,  was  sure 
to  be  at  every  cock-fight  or  man-fight,  and,  in 
the  absence  of  any  of  the  pugilists,  he  was  ready 
to  try  his  hand.  He  was  regarded  as  an  impor- 
tant personage  at  a  foot-race,  donkey-race  or 
quarter-nag,  and  at  the  winter  dance.  He  would 
take  a  hand  in  a  hen-roost  robbery  or  a  joke  or 
tell  a  story.  He  was  a  good-natured,  waggish, 
witty,  ignorant,  knowing,  rampant  fellow,  a  ter- 
ror to  women  and  children.  But  he  was  not 
without  his  good  points  and  generous  impulses. 
He  helped  those  in  distress  and  sickness,  and 
assisted  in  burying  the  dead. 

There  are  some  good  points  among  the 
worst  specimens  of  humanity.  There  are  none 
sunk  so  low  but  they  might  sink  lower.  The 
seeds  of  paradise  still  slumber  in  the  clods,  and 

183 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  stmsMne  and  moisture  will  sometimes  start 
them  into  a  new  life.  It  was  thus  with  Parker: 
bad  as  he  was,  he  might  have  been  worse. 

"It  was  announced  that  a  strange  preacher 
would  hold  a  meeting  in  a  barn,  fragrant  with 
the  odor  of  the  new-mown  hay.  The  preacher 
was  a  Scotchman  (Scott),  in  the  prime  of  life, 
about  five  feet  seven  inches  high,  with  a  thin 
face,  high  cheek-bones,  a  large,  projecting  nose, 
and  finely  chiseled  upper  lip,  and  an  eye  of  the 
eagle — sleepy  when  at  rest,  but  filled  with  the 
beams  of  the  sun  when  awakened.  His  hair  was 
'  black  as  the  wing  of  the  raven,  and  as  glossy, 
and  hung  rather  carelessly  upon  his  ample 
brow,  revealing  to  the  eye  a  forehead  of  singular 
beauty,  in  which  wit  and  benevolence,  reason 
and  invention  sat  enthroned.  In  all  respects  he 
was  a  great  man.  The  writer  has  often  heard 
him,  and  he  can  say  that,  at  times,  for  the  origi- 
nality of  his  conceptions,  the  richness  of  his 
language,  the  variety  of  his  thoughts,  the  sublim- 
ity of  his  imagery,  and  the  lofty  reach  of  his 
oratory,  he  has  seldom  or  never  known  him 
surpassed.  He  was  not  always  equal  to  himself, 
but  if  he  failed  at  any  time — and  who  does  not? — 
he  was  consoled  with  the  thought  that  the  fire 
still  burned  deep  in  the  ^tna  of  his  mind,  even 
though  the  smoke  was  not  seen,  or  the  flames  did 
not  shoot  up  portentously  to  the  darkened  heav- 
ens, or  the  lava  pour  from  his  lips. 

*'We  hope  the  reader  will  not  think  this  a 
mere  fancy  sketch.  It  is  drawn  from  life,  though 
not  to  the  life:  for  we  regret  that  the  preacher 
had  not  some  one  better  able  to  draw  out  more 
fully  the  lineaments  of  his  character.  He  was 
a  speaker  combining  much  of  the  genius  of 

184 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Edward  Irving,  with  the  Titan  tread  of  Robert 
Hall  and  the  graphic  powers  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott;  and  sometimes,  at  the  close  of  an  address, 
he  would  give  a  burst  of  oratory,  scattering 
gems  as  if  the  air  was  filled  with  the  fragments 
of  a  globe  of  crystals,  or  as  if  the  sun  had  looked 
out  from  a  cloud,  still  shedding  its  raindrops 
upon  the  moistened  earth:  he  would  then  lift  his 
audience  into  a  sweet  surprise,  captivating  every 
sense  by  the  mellowness  of  his  voice,  the  gentle 
grace  of  his  motions,  the  scintillations  of  his 
wit,  and  the  grandeur  of  his  imagery. 

*'But  we  must  not  forget  Parker.  The  fun- 
loving  wag  was  about  to  feel  the  arrows  of  con- 
viction and  the  subduing  influence  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ  at  the  barn  meeting.  The  whole  popu- 
lation was  leavened  with  the  doctrine  of  eternal 
life.  Parker  was  enrolled  among  the  saved.  The 
first  discourse  stripped  him  of  his  armor  and 
left  him  shivering,  a  guilty  culprit.  At  his  home 
he  showed  conviction.  His  thoughts  were  busy. 
Another  night  came :  again  might  you  have  seen 
the  villagers,  well  clad,  pouring  out  from  their 
houses — the  rich  and  the  poor — to  the  place  of 
meeting.  And  from  the  country,  carriages  and 
wagons,  full  to  repletion,  were  gathering  to- 
gether, as  at  some  great  festival.  Parker  was 
in  the  crowd,  and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  pre- 
sented himself,  the  publican  and  sinner,  for  con- 
fession. No  one  was  prepared  for  such  an  event, 
but  he  was  received,  and  proved  to  be  an  active, 
zealous  and  faithful  member." 

The  cases  just  mentioned  show  the  versatility 
of  Elder  Scott's  talent  in  bringing  the  gospel 
to  the  comprehension  of  a  little  child  and  making 
its  power  to  be  felt  by  poor,  ignorant  Parker,  en- 

185 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


slaved  by  Ms  appetite  and  steeped  in  sin ;  nor  did 
they  forget  him  and  the  lesson  he  taught. 

In  1834,  Scott  joined  with  L.  H.  Jamison  and 
Gary  Smith  in  founding  the  church  at  Harrison. 
On  their  arrival  at  the  town  they  learned  that 
all  the  church-houses  were  closed  against  them, 
and  that  they  would  be  under  the  necessity  of 
holding  the  proposed  meeting  in  a  barn  two  miles 
up  the  Whitewater.  Several  persons  came  for- 
ward to  make  the  good  confession.  As  the  sun 
was  going  down  they  returned  to  the  village  and 
repaired  to  the  river  to  attend  to  baptizing.  A 
great  concourse  of  people  was  present,  and 
among  them  a  local  Methodist  minister.  He 
offered  battle  at  the  water.  Scott  took  his  posi- 
tion on  a  large  boulder  and  replied  to  his  ques- 
tions. Scott's  colleagues  would  turn  to  the 
Scripture  relating  to  the  question  and  hand  it 
to  Scott,  who  would  read  it  aloud,  making  perti- 
nent comments.  The  whole  community  was 
awakened.  After  that  the  bam  was  filled  with 
people,  a  goodly  number  was  added  to  the  saved, 
and  the  church  was  established.  At  this  time 
(1917)  it  is  a  strong,  model,  apostolic  church. 

Elder  Scott  visited  Wilmington  and  many 
other  places  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 

At  Cincinnati  he  started  a  paper — the  Evan- 
gelist. The  celebrated  Kobert  Dale  Owen  visited 
the  city,  and  delivered  two  lectures  full  of  scoffs 
and  sneers  at  religion.  Scott  replied  to  him. 
Alexander  Campbell  had  previously  (in  1830) 
met  the  senior  Owen  in  debate,  with  signal  suc- 
cess, and  Scott  now  met  the  son. 

In  substance  Mr.  Owen  admitted,  when  Scott 
addressed  him  a  letter,  that  it  was  not  Chris- 
tianity, but  its  abuses,  that  he  was  attacking; 

186 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


and  to  these  abuses  Scott  was  no  less  hostile 
than  was  Owen. 

After  establishing  the  canse  at  Carthage,  the 
church,  though  happy  and  peaceful,  did  not  grow 
as  rapidly  as  Scott  desired.  He  was  doing  a 
good  work  teaching  the  disciples,  but  he  felt  the 
need  of  the  stimulus  of  success  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed.  To  arouse  the  public  mind 
and  secure  the  desired  success,  it  was  agreed  to 
have  a  meeting  lasting  several  days,  to  which  the 
ablest  ministers  should  be  invited.  When  the 
time  came,  as  announced  in  the  Evangelist,  there 
came  from  Kentucky,  John  T.  Johnson  and  Ben- 
jamin Finnell;  from  Indiana,  John  O'Kane  and 
L.  H,  Jamison,  and  from  Ohio,  B.  U.  Watkins 
and  several  others. 

Preaching  was  held  in  the  grove  during  the 
day  and  in  the  big  schoolhouse  at  night.  The 
preaching  was  by  Johnson  and  O'Kane.  The 
crowds  were  large,  but  the  people  were  unmoved. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  prospect  of  fruit.  L.  H. 
Jamison,  who  gives  the  account,  says  after  the 
meeting  had  gone  on  some  days,  Scott  quietly 
arose  and  began  to  speak  about  as  follows:  ''My 
friends  and  dearly  beloved,  I  have  been  living 
among  you  and  trying  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
you.  For  some  reason,  my  ministrations  have 
ceased  to  be  etfective.  I  felt  unable  to  divine 
the  reason.  It  occurred  to  me  that  you  might 
have  some  objection  to  me.  I  determined  to 
get  out  of  the  way  ;  and  so  we  appointed  this 
meeting.  These  faithful  men  have  come  and 
preached  and  exhorted,  sung  and  prayed,  and 
entreated  with  tears,  to  no  avail.  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  your  indifference  is  not  to 
objections  against  me,  or  these  eminent  men  who 

187 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


have  been  laboring  before  you,  but  solely  to  your 
own  cruel  hard-heartedness.  I  am  astonished, 
confounded,  and  don't  know  what  to  make  of 
you.  Are  you  not  ashamed  of  yourselves,  to  sit 
here  from  day  to  day,  and  from  night  to  night, 
listening  to  such  reasonings,  to  such  appeals, 
without  being  moved!  What  can  be  the  matter 
with  you?  Are  you  destitute  of  common  intelli- 
gence? Careless  with  regard  to  your  own  eter- 
nal interests?  Have  you  no  fear  of  the  high  and 
lofty  One  who  inhabits  eternity?  Are  you  not 
afraid  that  Jehovah  will  render  vengeance  to  his 
enemies  and  will  reward  them  who  hate  him? 
And,  oh,  my  friends,  who  will  be  able  to  bear  the 
lighting  down  of  his  arm?  Are  you  disposed  to 
engage  in  unequal  war  with  the  Eternal?  He 
calls  in  mercy  to-night:  how  can  you  dare  to 
refuse?  He  stretches  out  his  hand,  and  how  can 
you  disregard  him?  Trifle  no  longer  with  his 
grace.  Do  you  not  fear  that  he  will  appoint  you 
a  place  with  hj^pocrites  and  unbelievers?  Oh, 
for  God's  sake,  for  your  own  salvation's  sake, 
be  persuaded,  be  constrained  by  the  love  of 
Christ,  to  become  reconciled  to  God!  Are  all  the 
sacrifices  of  divine  mercy,  in  your  behalf,  to  be 
in  vain?  Can  you  consent  to  fiU  the  heavens  with 
lamentations,  rather  than  joy  on  your  account? 
'As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  delight  not  in  the 
death  of  the  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  would 
turn  and  live.'  Turn  you!  turn  you!  oh,  my 
friends,  for  why  will  you  die?  The  Father  calls; 
the  Son  calls ;  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  call.  Say, 
my  friends,  will  you  come?  We  will  offer  one 
more  opportunity.   Brethren,  sing." 

The  effect  of  this  appeal  was  wonderful.  The 
entire  audience  was  astir.    The  first  notes  of  the 

188 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


song  were  scarcely  uttered  before  some  of  tlie 
best  citizens  of  the  place  presented  themselves 
to  make  the  good  confession.  When  the  brethren 
saw  the  unexpected  results,  they  sang  with  faces 
covered  all  over  with  smiles  and  moistened  with 
tears.  The  meeting  was  protracted  for  several 
days,  and  some  thirty  or  forty  additions  were 
made  to  the  church. 

Walter  Scott  said:  **The  primitive  church 
and  her  ministry  preached  Christ  and  promised 
the  Spirit:  the  modern  church  and  her  ministry 
invert  this  order,  and  preach  the  Spirit  and 
promise  Christ."  The  words  inspired  in  the 
holy  apostles  and  now  stereotyped  in  their  writ- 
ings by  this  blessed  missionary,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
are  Christ's  words,  and  are  the  instrumentality 
by  which  he  converts  mankind,  whether  the 
blessed  God,  the  Redeemer,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
apostles,  the  primitive  church  and  her  ministry, 
or  the  modern  church  and  her  ministry,  be  the 
agents :  so  though,  in  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  Christ  has  had  many  agents,  he  has, 
nevertheless,  had  but  one  instrumentality.  Christ 
has  left  neither  the  world  nor  the  church.  He  is 
with  the  former  by  the  gospel,  and  with  the 
latter  by  the  Spirit. 


189 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Joseph  Franklin  Sidney  Smith  Clark      Dr.  Elkannah  Williams 


H.  N.  Allen  R.  M.  Bishop  C.  H.  Gould 


Ira  D.  Washburn  W.  S.  Dickinson  John  Shackleford 

CnrCINNATI  PIONEERS,  PROMINENT  DT  CITY  AND 
CHURCH 

190 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


XIX 

THE  RESTORATION  IN  CINCINNATI 

Campbell  and  Pubcell. 

IN  1837,  Alexander  Campbell  had  a  debate 
in  Cincinnati,  on  the  merits  of  Catholicism. 
Some  time  before,  Mr.  Campbell  had  made  an 
address  before  the  College  of  Teachers.  One 
Dr.  Wilson  had  recommended  the  Bible  as  a 
universal  school-book.  Bishop  Pnrcell  opposed 
this  idea,  and  declared  that  "the  Protestant 
Reformation  had  been  the  cause  of  all  the  con- 
tention and  infidelity  in  the  world."  The  citi- 
zens asked  Mr.  Campbell  to  debate  the  subject. 
Bishop  Pnrcell  agreed  to  have  the  debate,  and 
the  propositions  to  discuss  were  agreed  upon. 
They  so  cover  questions  of  interest  of  the  present 
time  that  they  are  here  recorded. 

The  Roman  Catholic  institution,  some- 
times called  'the  Holy  Apostolic  Church,'  is  not 
now,  nor  was  she  ever,  catholic,  apostolic  or 
holy;  but  is  a  sect  in  the  fair  import  of  that 
word,  older  than  any  other  sect  now  existing; 
not  the  mother  and  mistress  of  all  churches,  but 
an  apostasy  from  the  only  true,  apostolic  and 
catholic  church  of  Christ. 

"2.  Her  notion  of  apostolic  succession  is 
without  any  foundation  in  the  Bible,  in  reason 
or  in  fact;  an  imposition  of  the  most  injurious 
consequences,  built  upon  unscriptural  and  anti- 

13  191 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


scriptural  traditions,  resting  wliolly  upon  tlie 
opinions  of  interested  and  fallible  men. 

"3.  She  is  not  uniform  in  her  faith  or  united 
in  her  members,  but  mutable  and  fallible  as  any 
other  sect  of  philosophy  or  religion — Jewish, 
Turkish  or  Christian — a  confederation  of  sects 
under  a  politico-ecclesiastic  head. 

"4:.  She  is  the  Babylon  of  John,  the  man  of 
sin  of  Paul,  and  the  empire  of  the  youngest  horn 
of  Daniel's  sea  monster. 

"5.  Her  notions  of  purgatory,  indulgences, 
auricular  confession,  remission  of  sins,  transub- 
stantiation,  supererogation — essential  elements  of 
her  system,  are  immoral  in  their  tendency  and 
injurious  to  the  well-being  of  society,  religious 
and  political. 

"6.  Notwithstanding  her  pretensions  to  have 
given  us  the  Bible  and  faith  in  it,  we  are  per- 
fectly independent  of  her  for  our  knowledge 
of  that  book  and  its  evidences  of  a  divine 
original. 

"7.  The  Roman  Catholic  religion,  if  infallible 
and  unsusceptible  of  reformation,  as  alleged,  is 
essentially  anti-American,  being  opposed  to  the 
genius  of  all  her  free  institutions  and  positively 
subversive  of  them,  opposing  the  general  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  and  the  diffusion  of  useful 
knowledge  among  the  whole  community,  so  essen- 
tial to  liberty  and  the  permanency  of  good  gov- 
ernment. ' ' 

The  misrepresentations  of  public  opinion  led 
to  a  large  meeting  of  citizens,  in  which  they 
passed  resolutions  that  Protestantism  had  been 
fully  sustained  and  the  objections  to  popery  had 
not  been  met.  The  questions  then  discussed  are 
live  ones  for  these  times,  and  this  debate  should 

192 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


be  read.  Eighty  years  ago  Mr.  Campbell  de- 
scribed the  times  in  which  we  are  living.  The 
objections  to  Eomanism  are  more  intense  and 
apparent  now  than  they  were  in  1837.  The 
principles  of  Romanism  are  inconsistent  with  our 
free  institutions.  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  pioneer 
disciples  in  the  Restoration  movement  opposed 
Catholicism;  they  opposed  sectarianism,  the  off- 
spring of  Romanism;  they  opposed  the  subtle 
infidelity  of  worldlings,  and  be  it  remembered 
that  every  religious  body  has  reached  its  highest 
achievements  during  the  prominence  of  their 
peculiarities.  If  there  is  nothing  peculiar  to  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  they  have  no  right  to  exist. 
But  there  are  multiplied  peculiarities  of  a  Scrip- 
tural character,  and  we  must  foster  and  promote 
them.  God's  people  in  every  age  have  retro- 
graded in  proportion  to  their  uncurbed  desire  to 
be  like  others.  The  Jews  wanted  a  king  to  be 
like  others,  and  got  him  and  fell.  The  primitive 
Christians  desired  to  be  like  the  heathen,  and 
corrupted  their  worship.  If  they  now  desire  to 
be  like  the  Romanists  or  the  sectarians,  will 
God  not  raise  up  another  people  to  fulfill  his 
purpose? 

Roman  Catholic  agency  has  driven  the  Bible 
out  of  the  public  schools,  and  is  horrified  at  any 
suggestion  of  religious  training  in  the  schools. 
A  few  carping  infidels  join  with  them  to  domi- 
nate the  situation,  and  Protestants  weakly 
acquiesce. 

If  man  is  immortal,  per  se,  or  capable  of 
achieving  immortality,  then  it  is  unscientific  to 
leave  out  of  any  educational  system  religious 
education.  A  curriculum  with  God  left  out  is 
one-sided,  incomplete,  dangerous;  it  belongs  to  a 

193 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


pedagogy  that  is  silnrian  and  antiquated.  Put 
God  into  the  system. 

E.  M.  Bishop. 

R.  M.  Bishop  came  to  Cincinnati  from  Ken- 
tucky. He  made  a  fine  record  for  himself  in 
Ohio.  He  carried  on  a  large  wholesale  grocery 
business,  was  made  mayor  of  Cincinnati,  and 
directed  the  affairs  of  the  city  for  the  good  of 
the  many";  was  made  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  had  a  successful  administration. 

As  a  worker  in  the  cause  of  the  Restoration 
movement  he  was  a  leader.  He  helped  to  plan, 
build  the  house  and  carry  forward  the  affairs  of 
the  Central  Christian  Church.  He  was  an  elder 
and  greatly  interested  in  its  growth  in  numbers 
and  Bible  knowledge.  He  plainly  saw  that  the 
Sunday  school  was  a  means  of  preparing  the 
young  to  confess  the  Christ  and  fiad  a  home  in 
the  church. 

His  record  in  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary 
Society  plainly  shows  his  interest  in  Sunday 
schools  for  the  State  of  Ohio.  He  was  the  hon- 
ored president  of  the  society  for  ten  years  from 
1860  to  1869  inclusive.  In  the  annual  convention 
of  1862  at  Bellefontaine,  a  resolution  was  intro- 
duced for  the  Board  of  Managers  to  instruct  all 
of  the  evangelists  to  establish  Sunday  schools  in 
all  the  churches  they  should  visit.  The  resolution 
was  passed  with  great  spirit  of  unanimity,  the 
president  suggesting  that  they  rise  to  their  feet 
in  taking  the  vote.  In  the  convention  of  1865,  as 
presiding  officer,  Bro.  Bishop  delivered  the  fol- 
lowing address: 

"Deae  Brethken: — In  the  kind  providence  of 
our  heavenly  Father,  we  are  again  permitted  to 

194 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


meet  in  order  to  consider  the  interest  of  our 
Saviour's  kingdom.  Since  we  last  met  we  have 
been  most  graciously  preserved.  While  thou- 
sands have  fallen  in  the  great  struggle  of  life, 
we  have  been  most  signally  blessed  by  the  divine 
favor,  in  having  our  lives  spared  to  meet  again 
under  such  favorable  circumstances. 

"For  this  special  kindness  let  us  render 
thanks  to  the  Author  of  all  good.  There  is  also 
special  reason  for  gratitude  to  our  Father  in 
heaven  for  the  unmistakable  evidences  of  peace 
to  our  long-distracted  and  bleeding  country^ 
which  are  now  being  manifested  in  every  direc- 
tion. At  our  last  meeting,  the  dark  cloud  of 
internal  strife  largely  obscured  the  church's 
light  as  well  as  dimmed  the  nation's  hope.  There 
were  few  hearts  whose  faith  was  strong  enough 
to  lead  them  through  the  gloom  that  then  sur- 
rounded us,  to  the  blessed  assurances  of  to-day. 
Truly  are  the  works  of  our  God  wonderful  and 
his  ways  past  finding  out. 

"Dear  brethren,  let  us  use  these  openings  of 
Providence  as  occasions  for  an  increase  of  liber- 
ality, for  more  united  action,  for  more  laborious 
work  in  the  cause  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter. But,  as  I  wish  to  be  very  brief  in  my 
remarks,  I  will  call  your  attention  to  some 
special  matters  which  I  hope  will  be  freely  can- 
vassed during  the  present  meeting.  ...  I  wish 
to  say  a  few  words  upon  the  subject  of  Sunday 
schools.  Resolutions  offered  and  adopted  upon 
any  subject  may  be  well  enough  as  a  mere  ex- 
pression of  the  sentiment  of  a  meeting  upon  the 
subject.  We  have  frequently  in  our  meetings 
heretofore  resolved  that  we  would  give  more 
attention  to  the  subject  of  Sunday  schools,  and 

195 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


many  of  us,  no  doubt,  have  been  faithful  to 
these  resolutions.  Still,  all  who  have  reflected 
much  upon  the  subject  must  admit  that  we  are 
not  working  in  this  direction  as  we  ought.  I  do 
not  propose,  on  this  occasion,  to  argue  the  neces- 
sity for  such  labor.  Indeed,  I  deem  it  quite  use- 
less, for  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  we  all  are 
agreed  upon  the  importance  of  the  work.  The 
great  matter  is  to  have  it  done,  and  this  is  pre- 
cisely what  I  want  the  convention  to  consider.  I 
would  suggest  that  the  Board  be  requested  to 
appoint  an  agent  suitable  for  the  work,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  canvass  the  State,  or  so  much 
of  it  as  he  may  be  able,  and  organize  Sunday 
schools  where  there  are  none,  build  up  and 
encourage  those  already  established,  and  create 
a  more  active  interest  generally  in  the  whole 
subject. 

"The  subject  of  raising  funds  for  educating 
suitable  brethren  for  preaching  the  gospel  was 
presented  at  our  last  convention.  The  Board  has 
given  it  some  attention  during  the  year.  The 
importance  of  this  subject  demands  that  it 
should  be  kept  before  the  brethren,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, that  more  vigorous  efforts  be  made  to  carry 
it  into  practical  operation. 

■  "I  need  scarcely  say  that  in  all  our  delibera- 
tions we  should  keep  constantly  in  mind  that  we 
are  engaged  in  the  Lord's  work,  and  that  this 
consideration  should  lead  us  to  dignify  all  our 
actions  with  decorum  and  earnestness  somewhat 
commensurate  with  the  great  matters  committed 
to  our  hands,  and  I  feel  assured  that  I  shall 
have  the  hearty  co-operation  of  all  present  in  so 
conducting  the  deliberations  of  the  convention 
as  to  promote  the  cause  of  Christ.    And  now 

196 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


may  the  blessing  of  God  be  upon  us,  is  my  sin- 
cere desire." 

During  the  convention  Bro.  Bishop  offered  to 
bear  the  expense  of  a  Sunday-school  agent.  The 
convention  thought  it  would  be  too  great  a  tax 
on  his  liberality,  and  it  was  not  accepted.  At 
this  writing — 1917 — it  may  be  said  that,  for 
many  years,  such  an  agent  has  been  in  the  work 
suggested. 

Many  persons  co-operated  with  Bro.  Bishop  in 
emphasizing  the  Sunday-school  work.  A.  D. 
Fillmore  prepared  suitable  music  for  the  schools, 
D.  S.  Burnet  prepared  a  fifty-volume  library. 
The  Standard  Publishing  Company  gave  us  good 
supplies,  F,  M.  Green  prepared  a  Sunday-school 
manual,  the  International  lessons  have  been 
adopted  and  the  schools  graded.  Dr.  H.  Gerould 
and  others  joined  in  the  enterprise,  Herbert 
Moninger  wrote  on  teacher-training,  and  P.  H. 
Welshimer  put  all  the  suggestions  into  practice; 
and  now  are  there  not  five  hundred  good  schools 
among  the  disciples  in  Ohio,  and  is  there  not  one 
school  the  largest  and  most  efficient  of  any 
school  in  the  world?  The  objections  disciples 
once  had  to  the  Sunday  schools,  as  then  carried 
on,  have  been  removed  in  our  schools,  and  now 
the  disciples  of  Christ  are  leading  others  in 
Bible-school  work.  It  took  a  long  time  to  lay  the 
foundation,  but  now  the  work  is  prospering  to 
the  salvation  of  many  and  to  the  glory  of  our 
Father  in  heaven. 

1822— J.  H.  LocKwooD— 1903 

James  Henry  Lockwood,  pioneer  preacher, 
was  born  in  Hamilton  County,  0.,  Sept.  11,  1822 
— a  son  of  Ezekiel  and  Minerva  Lockwood. 

197 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


His  early  edncation  was  received  in  the  Cin- 
cinnati public  schools,  including  Woodward  High 
School.  Failing  health  caused  him  to  abandon 
his  studies  in  1840.  Nine  years  later  he  matricu- 
lated at  the  Fairview  (Ind.)  College,  prepara- 
tory to  entering  the  ministry. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  received  into 
membership  of  the  Fulton  (Cincinnati)  Christian 
Church,  and  was  engaged  actively  as  Sunday- 
school  teacher  and  superintendent  until  1846, 
when  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Nichols- 
ville,  Clermont  Co.,  0. 

His  ministerial  career  began  while  a  student 
at  Fairview  College,  substituting  as  preacher  at 
churches  in  neighboring  towns.  Returning  to 
Cincinnati  in  1851,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Christian  Church  at  Bethel,  O., 
and  later  was  engaged  as  pastor  at  the  New 
Richmond  Church,  preaching  on  alternate  Sim- 
days. 

His  marriage  to  Miss  M.  E.  Holland  occurred 
March  30,  1854,  J.  T.  PoweU  officiating.  The 
union  was  ideal  in  every  respect. 

Having  in  the  meantime  been  chosen  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Madison,  Ind.,  he  departed  with 
his  bride  for  that  place.  During  the  eight  years 
of  his  ministry  there,  247  members  were  added 
to  the  congregation. 

In  1862  he  returned  to  Bethel,  0.,  and  served 
as  its  beloved  pastor  for  forty-two  years.  He 
also  preached  semi-monthly  at  New  Richmond 
for  twelve  years,  and  Hkewise  was  engaged 
part  time  at  Felicity,  Georgetown,  Moscow, 
Mt.  Grab,  Dayton,  HamersviUe,  Liberty,  Rip- 
ley, Russellville,  Fincastle,  Monterey  and  other 
towns. 

198 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


He  assisted  in  the  organization  of  chnrches  in 
Kentucky — at  Ghent,  Liberty,  Cynthiana,  Mt. 
Bird,  Brooksville  and  Covington. 

Following  the  death  of  his  devoted  wife  in 
1890,  he  removed  to  Cincinnati,  making  his  home 
with  his  daughter  Anna,  and  other  children.  His 
death  occurred  June  17,  1903.  Although  eighty- 
one  year  of  age,  he  retained  his  youthful  vigor 
and  continued  actively  in  a  ministerial  work 
until  his  Master  called  him  home.  He  was 
survived  by  a  family  of  seven  children — six  sons 
and  one  daughter. 

The  beauty  and  serenity  of  his  life  left  its 
impress,  not  only  upon  the  people  of  his  own 
faith,  but  upon  all  who  were  privileged  to 
know  this  humble  child  of  God  and  friend  of 
man.  He  numbered  among  his  friends  many 
leaders  of  the  Restoration  movement — Alexander 
Campbell,  Barton  W.  Stone,  Isaac  Errett,  W.  T. 
Moore  and  all  the  preachers  of  Cincinnati  and 
vicinity — during  his  ministry. 

His  sermons  were  characterized  by  great  per- 
suasiveness and  force,  and  as  a  result  of  his 
faithful  labors  thousands  were  led  into  the 
"better  way." 

1812 — Benjamin  Fbanklin — 1878 

Benjamin  Franklin  was  born  in  Belmont 
County,  0.,  Feb.  1,  1812.  Later  he  lived  in  Noble 
County  and  then  lived  in  Indiana.  In  1834  he 
was  baptized  by  Samuel  Rogers.  He  immedi- 
ately gave  himself  up  to  the  work  of  planting 
the  truth,  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom,  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  never  ceased  his 
efforts  till  his  heart  was  stilled  in  death  in 
1878. 


199 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


In  1845  he  began  the  publication  of  the 
Reformer.  He  was  charged  with  magnifying 
evils  in  writings  in  this  paper,  as  he  was  in  his 
entire  editorial  career.  His  reply  was:  "We 
must  make  a  mighty  effort  to  save  the  church 
from  corruption,  speculation  and  sin  of  every 
kind,  that  it  may  at  last  be  presented  to  the 
Lord  a  glorious  church  without  spot  or  wrinkle." 

In  1848,  Walter  Scott,  in  Pittsburgh,  removed 
his  Protestant  Unionist  to  Cincinnati,  and  it 
was  merged  into  the  Christian  Age.  D.  S. 
Burnet  became  editor  and  proprietor.  Benja- 
min Franklin  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Chris- 
tian Age  and  moved  to  Cincinnati.  In  due  time 
the  Western  Reformer  was  stopped,  and  Frank- 
lin and  Burnet  were  editors  of  the  Christian  Age. 
In  time  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  Christian  Age, 
and  in  1856  started  the  American  Christian  Re- 
view. Later  the  Christian  Age  was  discontinued. 

From  early  manhood  Benjamin  Franklin  was 
a  physical  athlete.  He  was  a  half -inch  below  six 
feet  high.  In  his  youth  he  was  a  leader  in  feats 
of  strength  and  skill.  When  a  stick  was  held 
high  enough  for  bim  to  walk  under  it,  he  would 
take  a  short  run  and  leap  over  it.  His  feats  of 
strength  at  log-rolling  bees  were  marvelous. 
Well,  when  he  entered  the  reabn  of  editorship 
he  showed  powers  of  mind  as  well  as  great 
endurance  of  physical  strength.  He  took  up  the 
work  of  evangelizing  in  connection  with  his  edi- 
torial work.  He  was  constantly  in  meetings  and 
debates,  as  well  as  carrying  on  his  American 
Christian  Review  with  great  vigor. 

In  the  early  history  of  our  efforts  to  restore 
primitive  Christianity  to  the  world,  the  attention 
of  the  disciples  was  taken  up  with  denomina- 

200 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


tionalism,  regeneration,  baptism  and  Universal- 
ism.  On  these  subjects  the  disciples  were  agreed 
among  themselves,  and  unitedly  opposed  the 
religious  parties  around  them.  But  a  time  came 
when,  on  some  subjects  of  expediency,  they  disa- 
greed and  argued — one  against  another. 

In  a  brief  history  like  this,  these  most  diflS- 
cult  questions  can  only  be  briefly  stated.  The 
subjects  of  discussion  may  be  included  under  the 
following  general  headings : 

1.  Congregational  Independency. 

2.  The  Kelation  of  the  Ministry  to  the  Church. 

3.  Expedients  in  the  Worship. 

Alexander  Campbell  was  opposed  to  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Mahoning  Association,  pruned  of 
certain  redundancies  and  encroachments  upon 
faith,  piety  and  humanity.  In  1849  he  wrote: 
''Reformation  and  annihilation  are  not  with  me 
now,  as  formerly,  convertible  terms.  We  want 
occasional,  if  not  stated,  deliberative  meetings 
on  questions  of  expediency  in  adaptation  to  the 
ever-changing  fortune  and  character  of  society." 

A.  S.  Hayden,  in  the  "History  of  Disciples 
on  the  Reserve,"  calls  the  dissolution  of  the 
association  a  turning-point  in  our  history.  Then 
the  system  of  co-operative  evangelism  ceased. 
It  ought  to,  have  been  guarded  and  improved. 
Through  the  greater  part  of  his  life  Benjamin 
Franlclin  worked  in  missionary  co-operations. 
In  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life  he  changed 
his  mind  on  this  subject  and  favored  congrega- 
tional independency,  holding  that  the  disciples 
had  no  right  to  organize  any  permanent  society 
except  the  local  congregation.  Others  claimed 
the  liberty  to  organize  in  any  form  which  prom- 
ised the  best  results ;  that  it  was  purely  a  matter 

201 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  expediency.  It  is  thouglit  by  Ms  friends  that 
if  the  societies  had  held  to  merely  evangelistic 
co-operation,  and  had  not  stepped  aside  to  other 
matters,  he  would  never  have  opposed  them. 

As  to  the  relation  of  the  ministry  to  the 
church,  the  views  of  disciples  have  not  been 
clearly  defined.  Many  did  not  incline  to  think 
of  the  ministry  as  a  distinct  class.  They  thought 
that  any  person  of  talent,  though  not  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  might  preach  the 
gospel,  though  not  set  apart  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands.  The  courts  that  gave  license  to  many 
held  that  doing  the  work  constituted  ordination. 
After  awhile,  churches,  having  been  established, 
desired,  among  their  elders  or  overseers  or  pas- 
tors, a  person  given  entirely  to  the  work.  Then 
they  began  to  call  this  person  ''the  pastor." 
This  brought  on  the  discussion  as  to  **the  pas- 
torate." If  the  pastor-elder  introduced  no 
special  new  schemes,  he  was  tolerated,  but  if 
new  plans  were  introduced,  they  were  denounced 
as  innovations.  Franklin  opposed  calling  one 
''the  pastor"  when  he  was  only  one  of  several 
elders.  Franklin  objected  to  calling  this  active 
elder  a  clergyman  or  "the  pastor,"  or  applying 
to  him  the  cognomen  "Reverend."  If  the  title 
"Reverend"  is  to  be  applied,  then  why  not 
"Very  Reverend"  and  "Most  Reverend,"  and 
so  on  up  the  scale,  to  the  climax  of  wicked 
assumption?  The  expression  "Doctor"  was  also 
objectionable. 

As  to  expedients  Franklin  was  peculiar. 
When  the  churches  got  stronger  and  began  to 
build  better  meeting-houses,  some  thought  the 
elegant  house  was  an  innovation.  Then,  there 
was  the  question  of  helps  in  worship,  especially 

202 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


in  music.  The  organ  was  opposed  as  an  innova- 
tion. Franklin  took  a  decided  stand  against  the 
nse  of  musical  instruments  in  the  worship,  and 
refused  to  preach  or  worship  where  there  was 
one  unless  it  could  be  silent  during  his  stay.  His 
youngest  son  became  an  accomplished  musician. 
It  was  suggested  that  he  should  go  with  his 
father  in  his  evangelistic  work,  and  help  in  the 
music  and  sell  instruments.  When  he  proposed 
it  to  his  father,  he  listened  patiently  till  the  case 
was  presented,  and  then  said:  ''And  shan't  we 
take  a  monkey  along  too?"  The  great  majority, 
however,  looked  upon  instruments  as  helps  and 
in  harmony  with  the  times,  and  as  Scriptural  as 
a  meeting-house  or  a  stove  to  keep  the  house 
warm  and  comfortable. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  peculiarities, 
he  has  always  been  recognized  as  a  great  and 
good  man.  He  was  opposed  to  war,  but  worked 
on  the  fortifications  around  Cincinnati  when 
threatened  in  the  Civil  War.  He  blistered  his 
hands  with  shovel  and  pick,  slept  on  the  ground, 
and  declared  himself  attached  to  the  Govern- 
ment, but  would  not  shoot  his  brethren  whom  he 
had  brought  into  the  church. 

His  two  volumes  of  sermon  books,  **The  Gos- 
pel Preacher,"  will  be  lasting  monuments  to  his 
devotion  to  the  gospel  as  presented  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  tract  "Sincerity  Seeking  the 
Way  to  Heaven"  has  had  a  marvelous  circula- 
tion, and  is  doing  good  now  and  will  in  the  years 
to  come. 

This  is  an  imperfect  sketch  of  an  active,  great 
and  good  minister  of  the  Word. 


203 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Dr.  John  P.  Robison         John  T.  Phillips  Charles  M.  Phillips 


Wallace  J.  Ford  Richard  Hawley  Harmon  Austin 

STOCKHOLDERS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING 
ASSOCIATION,  CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  1866 


204 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XX 


THE  "CHRISTIAN  STANDARD 


HE  Christian  Standard  is  recogimed  as  one 


of  the  ablest  and  most  influential  religious 
journals  of  America. 

In  the  early  60 's  the  weekly  papers  then  pub- 
lished were  not  satisfactory  to  all  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ.  They  demanded  a  wiser,  sweet- 
er, better  advocacy  than  the  then  existing  papers 
presented — an  advocacy  that  should  exhibit  the 
apostolic  spirit  as  well  as  the  apostolic  letter. 

A.  I.  Hobbs  at  one  time  raised  a  subscription 
of  $8,000  to  start  such  a  paper  in  Cincinnati;  of 
course,  this  sum  was  insufficient. 

On  Dec.  22,  1865,  a  meeting  of  Disciples  who 
were  interested  in  such  an  undertaking  met  at 
the  home  of  T.  W.  Phillips  in  New  Castle,  Pa. 
Those  present  were  Isaac  Errrett,  J.  P.  Robison, 
W.  K.  Pendleton,  J.  A.  Garfield,  C.  H.  Gould, 
J.  F.  Rowe,  J.  K.  Picket,  J.  B.  Mihier,  O.  Hig- 
gins,  E.  J.  Agnew,  J.  T.  Phillips,  C.  M.  Phillips, 
T.  W.  Phillips  and  W.  J.  Ford.  The  meeting 
organized  by  making  J.  P.  Robison,  chairman, 
and  W.  J.  Ford,  secretary.  They  resolved  to 
start  a  publishing-house,  beginning  with  a  weekly 
paper.  J.  A.  Garfield,  J.  P.  Robison  and  S. 
Streator  were  made  a  committee  to  obtain  a 
charter  and  the  necessary  papers  for  organizing 
a  company. 


205 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $20,000  and 
Cleveland  as  the  place  of  pnblication.  The  name 
of  the  company  was  **The  Christian  Publishing 
Association."  J.  A.  Garfield  and  J.  H.  Rhodes 
were  appointed  a  committee  on  stock  snbscrip- 
tions  and  W.  J.  Ford  was  elected  solicitor.  The 
price  of  the  paper  was  fixed  at  $2.50  per  annum. 
At  the  meeting  of  directors  in  Cleveland  in 
January,  1866,  Isaac  Errett  was  made  the  man- 
aging editor,  and  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
adopted,  ''The  Christian  Standard,"  and  the 
publication  was  to  commence  in  April,  1866. 

The  prospectus  declared  for  a  bold  and  vigor- 
ous advocacy  of  Christianity  as  revealed  in  the 
New  Testament,  without  respect  to  party,  creed 
or  an  established  theological  system.  It  was  to 
plead  for  the  union  of  all  who  acknowledged  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  on  the 
apostolic  basis  of  "one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  bap- 
tism. ' ' 

It  was  to  advocate  practical  religion  in  all  the 
broad  interests  of  piety  and  humanity.  Mission- 
ary, educational  and  benevolent  enterprises  were 
to  receive  attention,  and  all  that  bears  seriously 
on  duty  and  destiny.  In  fact,  it  was  to  be  Scrip- 
tural in  aim,  catholic  in  spirit,  bold  and  uncom- 
promising, but  courteous  in  tone,  and  was  to 
seek  to  rally  the  hosts  of  spiritual  Israel  around 
the  Bible  for  the  defense  of  Christian  interests 
against  the  assumptions  of  popery,  the  mischiefs 
of  sectarianism,  the  sophistries  of  infidelity,  and 
the  pride  and  corruptions  of  the  world. 

The  subscriptions  at  one  time  reached  about 
five  thousand,  but  the  expenses  were  large  in 
starting  a  first-class  paper,  and  there  was  oppo- 
sition to  the  paper  from  other  interests,  and 

206 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


after  abont  two  years  the  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation withdrew  and  left  Isaac  Errett  to  battle 
alone.  Then,  there  came,  early  in  1868,  a  flatter- 
ing otfer  for  Errett  to  become  president  of  a 
college  in  Alliance,  O.,  and  publish  the  Standard 
in  Alliance.  A  large  delegation  of  prominent 
citizens  visited  Mr.  Errett  in  Cleveland,  assuring 
him  that  they  had  completed  a  handsome  college 
building.  A,  B.  Way,  as  financial  agent,  showed 
that  they  had  an  endowment  promised.  They 
presented  a  paid  subscription  of  five  thousand  to 
the  Standard,  and  promised  to  raise  it  to  twenty- 
five  thousand  in  a  year.  They  offered  a  salary 
of  $3,000  a  year  and  some  valuable  town  lots  for 
a  home.  Errett 's  advisers  said,  *'Go  to  Alli- 
ance." B.  A.  Hinsdale,  A.  E.  Benton  and  other 
good  scholars  were  in  the  Faculty.  The  college 
prospered  for  the  first  year.  For  a  time  the 
Standard  was  still  published  in  Cleveland,  and 
then  moved  to  Alliance.  In  July,  1869,  the  last 
number  of  the  Standard  at  Alliance  was  issued. 
Then  R.  W.  Carroll,  leading  book  publisher  at 
Cincinnati,  became  the  publisher.  It  was  started 
on  a  grander  career,  with  constantly  increasing 
power  to  this  very  day. 

In  July,  1873,  The"  Standard  Publishing  Com- 
pany was  formed,  with  R.  W.  Carroll  as  treas- 
urer ;  Isaac  Errett,  president,  and  Russell  Errett, 
secretary.  Since  then  the  Christian  Standard 
has  been  issued  by  that  company  with  ever- 
increasing  success. 

G.  P.  Rutledge,  in  becoming  editor  recently, 
wrote  in  part:  ''Our  age  persists  in  introducing 
complex  crises — especially  in  the  sphere  of  relig- 
ion— that  demand  loyalty  upon  the  part  of  all 
who  value  fundamental  things.  The  printed  page 

14  207 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


is  the  battleground  of  ideas.  The  religious  jour- 
nal that  stands  for  an  un  mutilated  Bible  and  the 
Christian  religion  as  it  is  outlined  in  the  New 
Testament  can  not  do  otherwise  than  attack 
error  with  a  fervor  interpreted  by  many  as  ill 
temper.  However,  if  something  deserves  to  be 
hit,  why  give  it  only  a  few  taps?  Whatever 
one,  after  thorough  investigation,  conceives  to 
be  wrong,  should  be  rebuked  from  the  shoulder 
out,  and  continuously.  Earnestness  is  not  neces- 
sarily anger. 

"In  its  efforts  to  conserve  the  faith,  stem 
earnestness  has  been  necessary.  In  season  and 
out  of  season,  it  has  been  a  clarion  voice, 
emphasizing  New  Testament  ideals  and  rebuking 
whomsoever  and  whatsoever  has  dared  assail  the 
teaching  and  genius  of  the  Restoration  plea.  As 
a  result  of  its  undaunted  perseverance,  it  has 
been  attacked,  times  without  number,  by  men 
and  interests  committed  to  the  same  plea,  and 
ridiculed,  but  a  big  thing  can  not  be  laughed 
down. 

"The  Standard  stands  for  the  advocacy  of 
Restoration  principles — plus  nothing,  minus 
nothing;  it  stands  four-square  to  all  the  winds 
that  blow;  and  the  indications  are  that  it  wiH 
thus  stand  for  many  years  to  come." 

The  Standard  has  led,  and  is  leading,  the 
battle  against  destructive  criticism  and  all  its 
agencies.  The  integrity  of  the  Bible — the  book 
that  has  withstood  the  criticism  of  the  centuries, 
and  is  as  Gibraltar  under  the  heavy  fire  of  pres- 
ent-day criticism — should  be  held  inviolate. 
Isaac  Errett,  J.  A.  Lord,  S.  S.  Lappin  and  (since 
July,  1917)  Geo.  P.  Rutledge  have  been  the  edit- 
ors of  this  world-wide  circulating  journal. 

208 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXI 

1820-ISAAC  ERRETT— 1888 

ISAAC  ERRETT  was  the  first  located  minister 
of  the  Restoration  movement  in  Ohio — at  New 
Lisbon.  He  was  one  of  the  first  in  founding  Hiram 
College;  one  of  the  first  in  starting  the  Ohio 
Christian  Missionary  Society;  one  of  its  first 
secretaries,  and  one  of  its  first  presidents.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  starters  of  the  Foreign 
Christian  Missionary  Society,  and  its  first  presi- 
dent. He  was  among  the  first  to  urge  the  claims 
of  the  women  in  organizing  the  Christian 
"Woman's  Board  of  Missions;  one  of  the  first 
advocates  of  Church  Extension,  the  Benevolent 
Association  and  Ministerial  Relief.  He  was  the 
first  and  greatest  editor  of  the  Christian  Stand- 
ard. 

J.  S.  Lamar  has  written  the  life  of  Isaac 
Errett  in  two  large  volumes,  and  then  he  has  not 
told  everything  about  this  great  and  good  man. 
He  was  the  first  to  prepare  and  use  an  elaborate 
dedication  service.  This  was  first  used  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Walnut  Hills  Church  opening 
in  Cincinnati.  This  service  has  been  used  in  a 
modified  form  by  F.  M.  Rains  in  his  dedications, 
by  L.  L.  Carpenter  and  others.  On  such  occa- 
sions there  is  usually  a  large  audience,  and  at 
the  close  they  stand  during  this  part  of  the 
service.   On  its  presentation  there  comes  a  hush 

209 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


as  of  the  presence  of  God  and  angels  hovering 
round.  Emotions  fill  the  breasts  of  the  people, 
and  the  cheeks  of  some  are  tear-stained. 

As  a  specimen  of  Errett's  fascinating  style 
of  writing  and  for  the  good  of  future  genera- 
tions, that  exercise  is  here  recorded: 

"We  set  apart  this  house  to  the  worship  of 
the  living  and  true  God,  and  to  the  service  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  We  devote  it  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  for 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  to  the  education 
of  Christians  in  a  knowledge  of  spiritual  truth, 
in  all  the  activities  of  Christian  life.  Here  shall 
the  incense  of  prayer  and  praise  ascend  to  God. 
Here  shall  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord's  house  be 
sacredly  observed.  Here  shall  the  word  of  God, 
which  liveth  and  abideth  forever,  be  sounded  out 
for  the  salvation  of  the  perishing,  and  shine  as 
a  perpetual  light  to  guide  God 's  pilgrims  through 
the  night  of  time  to  the  land  of  everlasting  light. 
Here  may  children  of  sin  and  sorrow  find  a 
refuge  from  despair  and  ruin,  and  Christians  a 
harbor  to  which  they  can  resort  when  the  tem- 
pest is  high,  and  be  safe.  Here,  in  the  hearts  of 
humble  worshipers,  may  the  Holy  Spirit  find  a 
temple,  and  the  doctrine  of  God's  word  distill 
upon  waiting  and  thirsty  spirits,  as  the  rains 
upon  the  mown  grass  and  as  the  showers  that 
water  the  earth;  so  that  righteousness  may 
flourish,  and  holiness  abound,  and  all  the  rich 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  be  yielded  in  a  blessed  harvest 
to  the  praise  of  God.  May  no  discordant  note 
of  strife  ever  be  heard  within  these  walls,  no 
unholy  spirit  of  pride  or  worldliness  find  en- 
trance here;  but  may  the  faith  out  of  which  all 
goodness  springs,  the  hope  which  purifies  and 

210 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


comforts  the  sorrowing  heart,  and  the  love  which 
honors  God,  blesses  man,  and  binds  Christians  in 
blessed  fellowship,  ever  inspire  and  sway  the 
he9,rts  and  lives  of  those  who  worship  here;  so 
that  with  one  mind  and  heart  they  may  strive 
together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  let  their 
light  so  shine  that  others,  seeing  their  good 
works,  may  glorify  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 
May  these  earthly  courts  be  as  the  holy  place  in 
y  the  temple — separated  only  by  a  veil  from  the 
holiest  of  all — in  which  the  royal  priests  of  the 
house  of  God  may  trim  the  golden  lamp,  and  eat 
of  the  bread  of  life,  and  bum  incense  at  the 
golden  altar;  and  thus,  drawing  near  to  God 
with  true  hearts,  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  may 
they  be  prepared  to  enter  finally  'within  the 
veil,'  to  rejoice  in  the  presence  of  God,  where 
there  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right  hand, 
where  there  are  pleasures  forevermore.  And 
may  God  graciously  accept  this  offering  of  a 
house  in  his  name — an  offering  made  by  grateful 
hearts  and  willing  hands — and  bless  every  heart 
that  shares  in  this  gift.  And  when,  one  by  one, 
those  who  have  shared  in  this  service  shall  be 
taken  away  from  these  earthly  scenes,  and  leave 
a  vacant  seat,  may  they  find  a  yet  more  blessed 
home  in  that  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens,  where  the  worshipers  shall  go 
no  more  out  forever.  May  multitudes  here  be 
born  to  God,  so  that  when  all  these  here  to-day 
shall  have  gone  to  their  eternal  home,  others  will 
take  up  the  service  and  repeat  from  generation 
to  generation  the  old,  old  story  of  the  cross,  and 
the  songs  of  Zion,  and  the  prayer  of  saints,  until 
Jesus  comes,  and  all  his  redeemed  are  gathered 
home.    We  give  thanks  to  God  that  his  people 

211 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


have  been  able  to  offer  willingly  after  tMs  sort. 
We  invoke  Ms  blessing  on  the  labor  of  their 
hands.  And  we  commit  to  his  holy  care  and 
keeping  all  the  interests  connected  with  this 
religious  enterprise.  'May  the  beauty  of  the 
Lord  our  God  be  upon  us.  And  establish  thou 
the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us.  Yea,  the  work 
of  our  hands,  establish  thou  it.'  And  to  thy 
blessed  name,  O  God,  whose  we  are,  and  whom  ' 
we  serve,  be  honor  and  glory  everlasting, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

When  Isaac  Errett  departed  this  life,  the 
managers  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety addressed  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Isaac  Errett  and 
family : 

Whereas,  In  the  providence  of  God,  Isaac 
Errett  has  been  taken  from  our  midst;  and 

"Whereas,  He  was  a  charter  member,  and, 
in  its  early  history,  the  efl&cient  corresponding 
secretary,  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety, and  later,  and  for  years,  its  presiding 
officer,  and  always  its  friend  and  counselor;  and 

"Whereas,  He  was  intimately  associated 
with  the  work  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  in  Ohio 
for  nearly  a  half-century,  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  we  place  on  record  our  high 
appreciation  of  his  unswerving  integrity  as  a 
Christian,  his  great  abilities  as  a  public  advocate 
of  the  truth,  his  warm  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
missions,  and  his  invaluable  services  as  editor  of 
the  Christian  Standard.  We  believe  it  is  not  too 
high  praise  to  say  that  to  him,  more  than  to  any 
other  man,  is  due  our  present  progress  in  all  that 
looks  to  a  higher  personal  consecration  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  and  to  a  greater  liberality  and 
activity  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  home  and 

212 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


foreign  lands.  A  life  so  faithfully  lived,  so 
cheerfully  and  prayerfully  devoted  to  the  cause 
of  righteousness  and  truth,  and  so  grandly  given 
to  the  salvation  of  souls,  is  a  precious  legacy 
to  the  people  of  God. 

"Resolved,  That  the  corresponding  secretary 
be  requested  to  convey  to  Sister  Errett  and  the 
family  our  sincerest  sympathy  in  this  hour  of 
their  deep  grief,  and  to  assure  them  that  their 
grief  is  shared  by  the  thousands  of  disciples 
who  knew  him  only  to  love  him. 

"Board  of  Managers:  Lathrop  Cooley,  H.  C. 
White,  A.  J.  Marvin,  B.  L.  Pennington,  J.  Q. 
Eiddle,  W.  S.  Streator,  A.  B.  Teachout,  Wm. 
Bowler,  Andrew  Squire,  Jabez  Hall,  Jessie  H. 
Brown,  Mrs.  W.  J.  McKinney,  E.  C.  Parmlee, 
E.  Moffett  and  H.  E.  McMillen. 

"J.  Z.  Ttleb,  Pres. 

"Alanson  Wilcox,  Cor.  Sec." 


213 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


R.  W.  CcurroU,  Isaac  Errett,  Russell  Errett, 

Treasurer  and  Manager  ,  President  Secretary 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
ORGANIZED  1872,  IN  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 


214 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXII 

THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

'Y'HE  publishing-house  known  as  The  Standard 
Publishing  Company  had  its  origin  in,  and  had 
grown  up  with,  the  Christian  Standard,  a  weekly- 
paper  founded  to  advocate  the  principles  of  the 
Restoration  movement.  The  first  number  of  the 
Christian  Standard  was,  as  recorded  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  issued  in  April,  1866,  by  the 
Christian  Publishing  Association  of  Cleveland, 
O.,  with  Isaac  Errett  as  editor,  and  C.  L.  Loos 
and  B.  A.  Hinsdale  as  associate  editors. 

In  this  number  the  editor  paid  his  tribute  to 
Alexander  Campbell,  who  had  just  passed  away. 
It  thus  marked  a  new  era  in  the  publishing  ser- 
vice of  the  Restoration;  which  till  then  had  been 
almost  exclusively  devoted  to  polemics,  and  was 
now  destined  to  take  the  lead  in  a  positive  asser- 
tion of  the  principles  of  primitive  Christianity, 
in  the  promotion  of  co-operative  effort. 

The  Sta/ndard  was  published  for  two  years  in 
Cleveland,  when,  the  funds  subscribed  having 
been  consumed,  the  paper  was  transferred  to  the 
editor,  Isaac  Errett,  who  removed  the  office  to 
Alliance,  0.,  where  he  had  assumed  the  presi- 
dency of  Alliance  College.  Retiring  from  that 
position  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  through  the 
enterprise  of  R.  W.  CarroU,  of  Cincinnati,  and 
encouraged  by  W.  T.  Moore,  W.  S.  Dickinson 

215 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


and  other  prominent  brethren  of  Cincinnati,  the 
paper  was  brought  to  Cincinnati,  where,  under 
the  liberal  policy  of  the  new  owner,  it  soon  took 
rank  among  the  leading  religious  papers  of  the 
country. 

In  1872,  The  Standard  Publishing  Company 
was  formed,  with  R.  W.  Carroll  as  the  principal 
stockholder.  His  interest  subsequently  passed 
to  trustees  in  the  interest  of  D.  W.  Chase  and 
John  B.  HaU,  who  were  associated  in  the  book 
business  as  Chase  &  HaU.  On  the  failure  of 
Chase  &  Hall,  in  1878,  this  interest  was  pur- 
chased by  C.  H.  Gould  and  the  Erretts.  Mr. 
Gould  subsequently  retired,  and  the  paper  re- 
mained in  the  control  of  Isaac  Errett  and  mem- 
bers of  his  family. 

In  1873  Mr.  Errett  began  the  publication  of  a 
monthly  sheet  now  known  as  the  "Standard 
Bible  Lessons,"  which  was  in  a  few  years  con- 
verted into  a  quarterly,  the  first  of  the  sixty  or 
more  Bible-school  periodicals  now  issued  by  The 
Standard  Publishing  Company.  To  this  he  soon 
added  a  little  weekly,  the  Sunday-school  Stand- 
ard. 

As  the  Bible-school  interests  of  the  churches 
developed,  the  demand  for  a  more  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  publications  became  more  and  more 
urgent,  and  it  became  a  fixed  principle  of  the 
company  to  meet  such  demands,  irrespective  of 
the  question  of  profits.  As  soon  as  it  became 
apparent  that  a  new  publication  was  actually 
needed,  it  was  forthcoming,  and  in  no  case, 
where  there  was  an  actual  need  for  it,  has  it  ever 
been  at  a  loss. 

There  should  be  noted,  perhaps,  one  excep- 
tion to  this  rule.   Before  the  Graded  Lesson  sys- 

216 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Jane  R.  Errett,  Russell  Errett,  John  P.  Errett, 

Secretary  Manager  and  Treasurer  Vice-President 

THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY  AND  ITS 
EXECUTIVE  C02yiMITTEE,  1918 


217 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


tern  was  introduced,  there  was  great  dissatisfac- 
tion with,  the  hop,  skip  and  jump  methods  of  the 
Uniform  system,  and  an  urgent  demand  for  a 
more  coherent  system  of  Bible  lessons.  The 
Standard  Company  responded  with  a  complete 
new  system  of  Continuous  Bible  Studies,  which 
was  received  with  great  favor  for  a  time,  but, 
owing  to  the  new  Graded  system  which  came  into 
vogue,  it  feU  into  disuse  and  failed  to  repay  the 
great  expense  incurred  in  its  preparation. 

But  in  thus  identifying  itself  with  the  Bible 
schools,  the  company  has  grown  and  flourished 
mth  them  until  it  is  second  to  none  in  the 
land  in  the  extent  and  excellence  of  its  pro- 
ductions. 

With  the  two  forementioned  systems  on  its 
hands,  the  company  cheerfully  took  up  the  bur- 
den of  a  third  when  the  schools  required  it,  and 
issued  a  full  line  of  publications  for  the  graded 
series. 

And  in  pursuance  of  the  same  plan,  it  pro- 
vided the  colored  Picture  Rolls  and  Cards  for 
both  the  Uniform  and  Graded  series,  which  no 
other  publishing-house  has  ever  attempted. 

To-day  The  Standard  Publishing  Company 
is  issuing: 

1.  Two  complete  systems  of  Bible-school  les- 
sons— the  Uniform  and  the  Graded. 

2.  The  largest  and  most  enterprising  relig- 
ious weekly  in  the  world. 

3.  The  most  widely  circulated  adult-class 
weekly  in  the  world. 

4.  The  most  complete  system  of  colored 
charts  and  cards  and  papers  for  Bible  schools 
and  missionary  societies  to  be  found  in  the 
world. 

218 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


S.  S.  Lappin  James  S.  Launar  Hugh  McDiannid 


J.  W.  McGarvey  W.  K.  Pendleton  Chas.  Louis  Loos 


Jsunes  A.  Lord  R.  Richardson  William  Baxter 

EDITORS  AJSTD  CONTRIBUTORS  "CHRISTIAN 
STANDARD" 

219 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


In  addition  to  this  periodical  service,  the 
company  has  performed  a  similar  service  for 
our  book  literature,  nntn  its  catalogue  now  com- 
prises nearly  everything  that  has  been  produced 
among  us  for  years.  In  the  past  ten  years  it 
has  published  fully  tenfold  as  many  books  for 
our  own  authors  as  all  other  houses  combined. 
Its  publications  rank  with  the  best  in  the  land. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  the 
pubKcity  service  of  The  Standard  Publishing 
Company  in  the  extension  of  the  Restoration 
movement.  It  championed  the  cause  of  co-oper- 
ative work,  against  all  odds,  until  our  missionary 
societies  were  made  self-sustaining.  It  has  been 
foremost  in  all  evangelistic  movements.  It  has 
encouraged  every  good  enterprise,  and  has  not 
hesitated  to  correct  evils,  and  to  oppose  errors 
wherever  they  have  appeared. 

Throughout  its  history  it  has  staunchly  ad- 
hered to  the  essential  principle  of  Protestant 
Christianity;  namely,  unconditional  surrender  to 
the  word  of  God,  in  aU  that  pertains  to  eternal 
life — the  great  principle  it  was  founded  to  main- 
tain. 

In  April,  1916,  the  Standard  celebrated  its 
jubilee  anniversary,  in  the  largest  and  most 
striking  sheet  ever  issued  by  a  religious  journal. 
This  number  is  a  monument  to  the  progress  of 
the  Bestoration  movement  during  the  fifty  years. 
The  first  issue  of  the  paper  was  a  small  folio  of 
eight  pages,  15  x  22  inches.  The  jubilee  number 
had  eighty-four  pages,  10  x  14,  lavishly  illus- 
trated, with  ornamental  cover,  all  overflowing 
with  the  evidence  of  a  mighty  growth  in  our 
movement.  With  this  growth,  in  every  branch, 
the  Standard  has  been  so  identified  that  the  his- 

220 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


tory  of  th.at  growth  is  well-nigh  the  history  of 
The  Standard  Publishing  Company. 

The  company  has  entered  its  second  half- 
centnry  with  a  publishing  plant  second  to  none 
among  the  religious  publishing-houses  of  the 
country,  and  with  a  publishing  service  that  ex- 
tends to  twenty-two  thousand  communities  and 
is  increasing  day  by  day.  This  is  all  the  more 
gratifying,  as  it  is  a  tribute  of  a  great  people  to 
an  unswerving  adherence  to  the  guiding  prin- 
ciples of  the  faith. 


222 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Geo.  P.  Rutledge        Willard  L.  Mohorter 
Editor 


CecU  J.  Sharp  H.  L.  Calhoun  A.  Fairhurst 

CONTEIBXJTOES  OF  TO-DAY  TO  "CHEISTIAN 

STAITOAED" 
36  223 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XXIII 

MONINGER,  DAVIS  AND  ROWE 

1876 — Herbeet  MomNGEE — 1911 

J-^EEBERT  MONINGER  seemed  like  a  star  of 
the  first  magnitude  let  down  from  the  sky,  to 
shine  brilliantly  for  a  brief  period  and  then  all  too 
soon  go  back  to  his  native  heaven.  Who  has 
ever  influenced  the  Bible-school  world  as  did  this 
brilliant  young  man?  Who  like  him  has  pre- 
pared books  on  teacher-training  and  other  sub- 
jects which  have  been  sent  out  by  the  million 
to  encourage,  enlighten  and  improve  the  Bible 
schools?  He  came  at  an  opportune  time.  The 
schools  and  the  churches  needed  an  uplift,  and 
he  gave  it  to  them.  Some  people  live  a  long 
time  and  do  nothing.  Some  people  live  a  long 
time  and  do  much.  Few  people  live  a  short  time 
and  do  much,  and  this  may  be  said  of  Herbert 
Moninger. 

He  had  a  Bible-school  vision  and  injected 
high  purpose  and  ideas  into  the  lives  of  others. 

Some  one  has  said  when  God  would  formulate 
a  law  for  the  reformation  of  a  nation,  he  brings 
forward  a  man  and  puts  him  in  a  legislative  hall. 
When  God  would  furnish  a  tool  for  the  lighten- 
ment  of  toil,  he  brings  forward  a  man  through 
whom  it  is  done.  And  when  a  new  epoch  would 
begin  in  civilization,  he  brings  forward  a  man 
who  leads  to  the  highest  point.  And  so,  when 
the  church  was  ready  for  first-hand  Bible  study, 

224 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


God  called  Herbert  Moninger  out  and  up.  Dur- 
ing the  last  hundred  years,  the  period  of  Sunday- 
school  life,  the  religion  of  Christ  went  forward 
more  rapidly  than  in  the  eighteen  centuries  which 
preceded.  The  last  fifteen  years  of  Sunday- 
school  life  were  greater  than  the  rest  of  the  hun- 
dred years.  And  this  is  the  period  of  Moninger 's 
leadership  in  the  Sunday-school  world.  The 
Bible  has  come  to  be  a  more  loved  book,  a  more 
real  book,  a  more  intelligent  book,  through  the 
great  enthusiasm  for  Bible  study  which  has 
grown  out  of  the  teacher-training  work.  All 
understand  the  real  foundation  of  Bible  study 
as  they  had  not  known  it  before. 

*  He  was  born  at  Lone  Pine,  Washington  Co., 
Pa.,  Apr.  29,  1876,  and  passed  to  his  heavenly 
reward  in  Cincinnati,  June  21,  1911.  He  gradu- 
ated at  Bethany  College;  took  degrees  at  West 
Virginia  University,  at  Butler  and  at  Yale; 
preached  at  Tiffin,  0.,  one  year,  at  SteubenviUe 
three  years;  took  a  trip  to  the  Holy  Land  and 
commenced  work  with  The  Standard  Publishing 
Company  in  1905.  The  rest  of  his  life  was  de- 
voted exclusively  to  the  Sunday-school  work. 

J.  W.  McGarvey  said  he  was  a  remarkable 
man.  No  man  among  us  accomplished,  in  so 
short  a  time,  a  work  so  large  and  far-reaching 
as  he  did  in  the  department  of  the  Sunday 
school ;  and  the  beauty  of  his  work  was  constantly 
seen  in  the  charm  of  good  humor  and  cheerful- 
ness with  which  it  was  done.  The  pleasant  smile 
which  always  beamed  from  his  face  seemed  to 
pervade  all  of  his  writings,  and  make  him  uni- 
versally popular. 

Who  knows  but  that  the  Master  has  called 
him  to  do  a  still  mightier  and  more  joyful  work 

225 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


226 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


among  the  multiplied  millions  of  children  in  the 
spirit  land  who  never  enjoyed  the  Sunday  school 
in  this  world!  Our  loss  may  be  the  gain  of  a 
people  more  worthy. 

The  friends  of  the  Bible-school  work  have 
raised  $25,000  and  endowed  a  chair  in  Bethany 
College  to  the  memory  of  Herbert  Moninger. 
This  chair  will  give  special  attention  to  training 
teachers  and  officers  for  Bible-school  improve- 
ment. So  the  work  of  the  short  and  brilliant 
career  of  the  young  Christian  will  be  perpetuated 
in  the  ages  to  come. 

J.  F.  Davis 

J.  F.  Davis,  formerly  of  Portsmouth,  0.,  de- 
parted this  life  in  Florida  in  1910.  He  was  a 
true  man  of  God.  Though  personally  modest  and 
retiring  in  nature,  he  was  aggressive  in  building 
up  the  kingdom.  He  was  a  wholesale  druggist 
in  Portsmouth,  and  did  a  large,  successful  busi- 
ness. The  church  at  Portsmouth,  under  his  wise 
guidance,  grew  in  numbers  and  efficiency.  For 
years  he  was  its  strong  financier.  He  might 
have  gone  into  wealthy  religious  circles  and 
found  associates  who  were  congenial  and  pleas- 
ant. He  preferred  to  associate  with  the  lowly 
and  humble  Christians  who  loved  the  Lord  and 
the  teaching  of  the  primitive,  apostolic  church. 

His  home  was  always  open  to  ministers  of 
the  Word.  He  gave  much  aid  to  the  various  mis- 
sionary enterprises  of  the  church.  The  societies 
that  were  in  deep  need  and  made  personal  ap- 
peals to  him  always  found  a  helping  hand.  He 
was  a  liberal  giver  to  all  the  missionary  societies. 

He  invested  in  men — young  men  for  the 
ministry  were  aided  to  an  education. 

227 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


To  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  he 
was  a  liberal  contributor.  One  year  he  gave  $1,000 
to  start  work  in  a  county-seat  in  Ohio  and  the  work 
failed,  but  he  was  not  discouraged.  Some  years 
he  kept  his  own  books,  to  save  $1,200  for  the 
Lord's  work.  He  gave  at  least  $10,000  to  the 
Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  in  money  and 
property,  some  of  which  will  be  available  for 
future  use.  He  was  a  modest,  consecrated,  godly 
man. 

1827— John  F.  Rowe— 1897 

For  fifty  years  John  F'.  Rowe  was  a  preacher 
and  defender  of  the  gospel  as  presented  in  the 
New  Testament.  He  was  baptized  by  J.  Harri- 
son Jones  in  1848,  and  took  membership  in  the 
church  at  Wooster.  He  graduated  at  Bethany 
College  in  the  class  of  1854.  He  was  commended 
by  Alexander  Campbell  as  of  good  habits  and 
exemplary  character.  He  succeeded  as  a  minis- 
ter in  a  single  congregation,  as  at  Springfield, 
Ills. ;  Cory,  Pa.,  and  in  other  places.  He  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  writer  in  religious  journals. 

He  was  editor  or  associate  editor  of  the  fol- 
lowing papers:  the  Stylus,  the  Christian  Sen- 
tinel, the  Christian-Evangelist,  the  Akron  Daily 
Argus,  the  American  Christian  Review,  and  the 
Christian  Leader,  of  which  he  was  the  founder 
in  1886. 

His  ability  as  a  writer  was  acknowledged  by 
his  contemporaries.  He  was  a  strong  writer  of 
editorials.  He  always  had  something  to  say,  and 
he  said  it  in  a  fearless  way  so  that  it  commanded 
attention. 

He  differed  from  some  of  his  brethren  on  the 
use  of  instrumental  music  in  worship,  on  the  • 

228 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


way  missionary  societies  managed  affairs,  and 
on  congregational  singing. 

He  wrote:  "It  is  not  the  inanimate  organ 
that  corrupts  the  worship,  but  it  is  the  self- 
selected  choir,  generally  composed  of  the  least 
intelligent,  of  the  least  devout  and  prayerful, 
and  of  the  least  liberal  of  the  congregation: 
composed  of  church-members  and  non-church- 
members;  of  the  semi-godly  and  ungodly;  of  an 
organist  who  may  be  an  infidel,  playing  for  pay; 
and  of  a  chorister  with  no  religious  convictions, 
with  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes,  who  selects 
the  music  to  suit  his  own  theatric  or  operatic 
taste;  composed  of  giggling  girls  and  empty- 
pated  boys;  composed  of  'scientific  musicians' 
who  make  every  possible  effort  to  ruin  congrega- 
tional singing ;  in  which  they  never  fail  to .  suc- 
ceed, to  the  disgust  of  God-fearing  men  and 
women.  If  a  small  organ — oh,  ye  heavens !  not 
a  pipe-organ! — were  used  as  a  tuning-fork  is 
used,  to  pitch  the  tune  and  keep  the  time,  and 
made  wholly  subordinate  or  tributary  to  con- 
gregational singing,  I,  for  one,  would  urge  no 
objection. 

"I  speak  for  myself,  and  for  no  one  else,  by 
saying  that,  as  much  as  I  despise  an  organ  in 
public  worship,  I  can  go  forward  and  perform 
my  Christian  duties  and  accomplish  great  good 
and  lead  a  comparatively  happy  life — in  spite  of 
the  organ. 

''By  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  determined  not 
to  be  held  responsible  for  the  division  and  alien- 
ation of  God's  people  by  fighting  over  an  organ! 
Place  me  where  you  will — among  friends  or  foes 
— neither  an  organ  nor  a  choir,  nor  feast  nor 
famine,  nor  men  nor  demons,  nor  all  the  devices 

229 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  men,  shall,  God  being  my  helper,  be  allowed 
to  destroy  my  usefulness  in  life." 

He  took  a  full  part  in  the  discussion  of  mis- 
sionary societies.  He  at  first  worked  with  the 
societies,  but  later  changed  his  mind,  maintain- 
ing that  they  were  an  oligarchic  and  plutarchic 
monopoly.  He  declared  that  they  offered  their 
patronage  and  protection  to  those  who  sur- 
rendered their  individuality  and  bowed  to  the 
organized  trust. 

He  gives  a  summary  of  his  views  on  ques- 
tions of  Christian  life  in  the  Christian  Leader 
of  1896 : 

**We  will  continue  uncompromisingly  to  con- 
tend earnestly — 

"1.  For  a  pure  doctrine  unmixed  with  tradi- 
tion. 

"2.  For  a  pure  gospel  unsullied  by  human 
speculation. 

''3.  For  a  pure  worship,  free  of  worldly  trim- 
mings and  meretricious  appendages. 

"4.  For  the  union  of  God's  people  exclusively 
upon  apostolic  precept  and  example. 

"5.  For  the  pure  Christian  life  without  pre- 
tense of  hypocrisy. 

"6.  For  peace  and  harmony  among  brethren. 

**7.  For  a  competent  Scriptural  eldership, 
church  discipline  and  the  independency 
of  the  congregations,  free  from  outside 
interference  or  dictation. 

''8.  Against  all  innovations  upon  the  order 
of  Heaven  to  the  extent  of  my  ability." 

All  in  all,  John  F.  Rowe  was  a  strong  advo- 
cate of  the  faith,  and,  as  a  writer,  was  excelled 
by -few,  if  any. 


230 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXIV 

THE  FIELD  OF  LITERATURE 

AUTHOBS. 

Atwater,  John  M. — Book  of  Sermons. 

AzBiLL,  W.  K. — Science  and  Faith. 

Baxter,  William — Life  of  Walter  Scott,  Life  of 
Knowles  Shaw. 

BoGGS,  John — The  Christian  Lnminary. 

BoTELER,  Mattie — The  Conversion  of  Brian 
0 'Dillon,  Like  as  We  Are,  The  Evolution  of 
Juliet,  Joe  Binder's  Wild  Westing,  Shnt  In, 
Lights  on  Scriptural  Truth,  Sermon  Notes 
from  the  Ministry  of  Jesus. 

CooLET,  Lathrop — Book  of  Sermons. 

Dean,  B.  S. — Outline  of  Bible  History. 

Errett,  Isaac— Walks  about  Jerusalem,  Talks  to 
Bereans,  Evenings  with  the  Bible,  The  Que- 
rists' Drawer,  Debate  with  Tiffany  on  Spirit- 
ism, Linsey  Woolsey,  Life  and  Letters  of  Greo. 
A.  Flower,  Life  of  Judge  Reid,  Letters  to  a 
Young  Christian. 

Fabis,  TiTT.T.TE  A. — The  Sand-table. 

Goodwin,  Mrs.  M.  M.  B. — Laurel  Leaves  (poems). 

Green,  F.  M. — Standard  Manual,  Christian  Mis- 
sions, Life  of  J.  A.  Garfield,  History  of  Hiram 
College,  Life  and  Times  of  J.  F.  Rowe. 

Hall,  Alexander  Wilford — U niversalism 
Against  Itself,  Immortality  of- the  Soul,  Prob- 
lems of  Life,  Here  and  Hereafter. 

231 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Hatden,  a.  S. — History  of  Disciples  on  the  West- 
ern Reserve,  Polymathist,  Melodeon. 

Hawlet,  Edwin  H. — How  to  Remember. 

Hinsdale,  B.  A. — The  Jewish  Christian  Chnrch, 
Genuineness  and  Authenticity  of  the  Gospels, 
Jesus  as  a  Teacher,  Ecclesiastical  Tradition, 
The  Old  Northwest. 

McLean,  Alexandek — Handbook  of  Missions,  Cir- 
cuit of  the  Globe,  Missionary  Addresses. 

Meacham,  E.  J. — Training  to  Teach,  Manual  for 
Funeral  Occasions,  Pastor's  Ready  Reference 
Record,  How  to  Get  the  Crowd. 

Miles,  Mes.  M.  F. — Dr.  Carl  Brown. 

MoFFETT,  Robert — Seeking  the  Old  Paths. 

MoNiNGER,  Herbert — The  New  Testament  Church, 
Training  for  Service. 

Parks,  J.  G. — An  English  Grammar. 

PiERsoN,  A.  C— The  White  Church. 

Pounds,  Jessie  Brown — The  Iron-clad  Pledge, 
A  Popular  Idol,  Norman  McDonald,  A 
Woman's  Doing,  Roderick  Wayne,  Rachel 
Sylvestre. 

Ray,  Joseph — Ray's  Arithmetic,  Ray's  Algebra. 
Rutledge,  G.  p. — Pushing  the  World  Along. 
Smith,  C.  C. — Life  of  Jacob  Kenoly,  Historical 
Sketches. 

Thornton,  E.  W. — Common  Sense,  Pocket  Les- 
son Commentary,  Superintendent's  Record 
Manual. 

Tyler,  J.  Z. — Talks  to  Young  People. 

Updike,  J.  V. — Book  of  Sermons. 

Walters,  Zelia  M.^ — ^Lessons  in  Child  Training, 

The  Magic  Window. 
Welshimer,  p.  H. — A  Bible-school  Vision. 
WooLERY,  L.  C. — Life  and  Addresses  of  W.  H. 

Woolery. 

232 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


W.  Grant  Smith  Harry  F.  Rector  Joseph  Keevil 

CINCINNATI  PREACHERS  OF  RECENT  YEARS 

233 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


ZoLLAES,  E.  V. — Baccalaureate  and  Convocation 
Sermons,  The  Commission  Executed,  The 
Sabbath. 

Papers  Published  by  Disciples  of  Chbist 
IN  Ohio  (1917) 

The  Christian  Standard,  Cincinnati,  George 
P.  Rutledge. 

The  Missionary  Intelligencer,  Cincinnati,  F. 
M.  Rains. 

The  American  Home  Missionary ,  Cincinnati, 
F.  W.  Burnham,  G.  K.  Lewis,  B.  M.  Hopkins. 

The  Ohio  Work,  Cleveland,  I.  J.  Cahill. 

The  Ohio  Counselor,  Cleveland,  Mary  A. 
Lyons. 

The  Christian,  UhrichsviHe,  J.  A.  Canby. 
The  Ashland  Christian,  Ashland,  A.  B.  Robert- 
son. 

The  Canton  Christian,  Canton,  P.  H.  Wel- 
shimer. 

The  Christian,  Columbus,  Dr.  J.  A.  Sanders. 
The  Christian  Messenger,  Alliance,  C.  B.  Rey- 
nolds. 

The  Christian  Monitor,  Warren,  Walter  Man- 
seU,  F.  W.  Brown. 

The  Christian  Monitor,  Cincinnati,  Mrs.  M.  M. 
B.  Goodwin. 

The  Evanston  Christian,  Cincinnati,  Justin  N. 
Green. 

The  Youngstown  Christian  News,  Youngstown, 
Wm.  Dunn  Ryan. 

The  Norwood  Christian,  Norwood,  C.  R. 
Stauffer. 

The  Mansfield  Christian,  Mansfield,  M.  L. 
Germey. 

The  Lookout,  Cincinnati,  De  Forest  Murch. 

234 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Christian  Leader,  Cincinnati,  F.  L.  Rowe. 
The  Dayton  Christian,  Dayton,  H.  C.  Burk- 
hart. 

The  Christian  Assistant,  Niles,  W.  H.  McLain. 
Portsmouth  Messenger,   Portsmouth,   C.  R. 
Oakley. 

The  Christian  Oracle,  East  Liverpool,  John 
Mullen. 

The  Akron  Disciple,  Akron,  L.  N.  D.  Wells. 
Boy  Life,  Cincinnati,  Mrs,  Au^sta  T.  Errett. 
Girlhood  Days,  Cincinnati,  Mrs.  Augusta  T. 
Errett. 

Something  Doing,  Cincinnati,  De  Forest 
Murch. 


236 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Thos.  Munnell  I.  N.  McCash  F.  W.  Burnham 

A.  C.  M.  S.  A.  C.  M.  S.  A.  C.  M.  S. 


C.  C.  Smith  R.  H.  Miller 

Negro  Work  A.  C.  M.  S. 


F.  M.  Rains                    A.  McLean  Walter  W.  Brims 

F.  C.  M.  S.                   F.  C.  M.  S.  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

LEADEBS  m  ORGANIZED  WOBK 

236 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXV 

OUR  ORGANIZED  WORK 

The  Amebican  Cheistian  Missionabt  Societt. 

IN  October,  1849,  150  delegates  chosen  by 
churches  of  Christ  met  in  Cincinnati  and  organ- 
ized the  General  Christian  Missionary  Society. 
By  an  act  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  in  1851  it  was 
incorporated,  and  later  the  name  was  changed  to 
"The  American  Christian  Missionary  Society." 
Alexander  Campbell  was  the  first  president  and 
James  Challen  was  the  first  secretary. 

Several  progressive  steps  led  up  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  society.  In  1845  the  four  churches 
of  God  in  Cincinnati  organized  ''The  American 
Christian  Bible  Society. ' '  The  first  year  the 
society  received  $1,046,  which  was  expended  for 
expense  and  paid  out  for  Bibles  and  Testaments. 

Then  a  Sunday-school  and  Tract  Society  was 
organized  in  Cincinnati,  and  later  changed  the 
name  to  "The  Publication  Society."  The  Chris- 
tian Age  and  Sunday  School  Journal  were  pur- 
chased, and  published  for  two  years  by  this 
society.  The  Bible  and  tract  societies  met  at  the 
same  time  and  place,  and  the  meetings  were  re- 
ferred to  as  "The  Anniversaries."  In  1849,  as 
already  stated,  a  large  delegation  of  preachers 
and  others  attended  the  "Anniversaries"  and 
organized  the  American  Christian  Missionary 
Society.    The  earlier  societies  were  merged  into 

237 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


it.  Benjamin  Franklin  declared:  "The  object  of 
the  society  is  to  send  the  gospel  to  destitute 
places  in  our  own  country." 

In  the  sixty-seven  years  of  its  organization 
the  society  has  established  4,137  churches,  bap- 
tized 225,133  persons  and  gathered  as  many  more 
into  the  churches.  It  has  expended  $3,041,560.15. 
Last  year  the  society  organized  thirty-seven 
churches.  The  receipts  last  year  exceeded  $250,- 
000.  The  Ohio  disciples  have  been  no  insignifi- 
cant factor  in  promoting  the  object  of  this 
society. 

The  Board  of  Church  Extension  belongs  to 
this  society,  and  its  assets  are  $1,309,040.20. 
Headquarters,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  There  is  also 
a  Bible-school  department. 

The  National  Benevolent  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  1887,  and  sustains  thirteen  great  insti- 
tutions— ^hospitals,  homes  for  the  aged  and  Chris- 
tian orphanages.  The  headquarters  are  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  The  Cleveland  Christian  Orphanage 
is  under  the  general  management  of  the  Benev- 
olent Association. 

While  the  American  Christian  Missionary 
Society  has  its  headquarters  in  Cincinnati,  it  takes 
in  the  whole  country  in  its  field  of  operations.  It 
publishes  a  monthly— TTie  American  Home  Mis- 
sionary. 

The  Board  of  Ministerial  Eelief  is  the  organ- 
ized agency  through  which  the  churches  of  Christ 
care  for  their  aged  and  disabled  ministers, 
widows  and  the  orphans  of  ministers  and  retired 
missionaries.  It  is  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  the  headquarters 
are  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Last  year  the  offerings 
amounted  to  $50,127. 

238 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  Foreign  Cheistian  Missionabt  Society 

The  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society  has 
its  offices  in  Cincinnati,  0.  The  object  of  tb*^ 
society  is  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations.  It  was 
organized  in  October,  1875,  at  Louisville,  Ky. 
The  disciples  in  Ohio  have  always  taken  a  lead- 
ing part  in  its  work.  Isaac  Errett  was  the  first 
president.  As  secretary  and  president,  A. 
McLean  has  been  connected  with  the  society  for 
thirty-five  years.  In  the  Missionary  Intelli- 
gencer of  February,  1917,  he  gives  a  resume  of 
missionary  operations  of  the  disciples  of  Christ 
during  the  thirty-five  years. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  Foreign  Society 
had  six  missionaries,  and  they  were  all  in  Eu- 
rope. Now  we  have  missionaries  in  China,  India, 
Japan,  Africa,  Cuba,  Tibet,  Mexico,  Porto  Rico, 
Argentina  and  Alaska.  The  Foreign  Society 
alone  has  187  missionaries  and  803  native  help- 
ers— pastors,  evangelists,  teachers,  colporteurs, 
nurses  and  Bible  women.  Then  we  had  no  mis- 
sionary literature.  Now  we  have  missionary 
books;  the  Tidings,  the  Intelligencer,  the  Home 
Missionary,  Business  in  Christianity,  and  the 
Philanthropist. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  receipts  of  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society  amounted 
to  less  than  $7,000;  the  Christian  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions,  to  less  than  $8,000,  and  the 
Foreign  Society  received  about  $13,000.  Last 
year  the  American  Christian  Missionary  Society 
received  $230,875;  the  Christian  Woman's  Board, 
$439,840;  the  Foreign  Society,  $522,716;  the 
National  Benevolent  Association,  $202,385;  the 
Board  of  Church  Extension,  $196,973 ;  the  Board 

16  239 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Richmond  Street  Christian  Church 


Mrs.  C.  N.  Pearre  Mrs.  R.  R.  Sloan       Mrs.  M.  M.  B.  Goodwin 

OHIO  WOMEN  WHO  HELPED  TO  ORGANIZE  THE  C.  W. 

B.  M.  AND  GAVE  AID  TO  MAKE  IT  A  SUCCESS 

240 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  EN  OmO 


of  Ministerial  ReHef ,  $50,127 ;  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, $208,438,  and  the  Men  and  Millions  Move- 
ment has  $4,000,000  pledged  over  and  above  what 
comes  through  the  regular  channels. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  Foreign  Society 
owned  no  property  on  any  of  the  non-Christian 
fields — no  church  building,  no  home,  no  hospital, 
no  school,  no  orphanage,  no  printing-press.  Now 
it  owns  167  church  buildings  worth  $117,830;  60 
missionary  homes,  worth  $13,235;  25  hospitals 
and  dispensaries,  worth  $63,279;  4  orphanages, 
worth  $134,671,  and  4  printing-presses,  worth 
$8,000,  and  they  publish  about  eight  million  pages 
of  literature  annually.  Children's  Day  is  now 
established,  and  the  Bible  schools  last  year  gave 
$99,530. 

The  Chbistian  Woman's  Boabd  of  Missions 

Was  organized,  in  the  Richmond  Street  Church, 
Cincinnati,  0.,  on  Oct.  24,  1874.  This  his- 
torical church  is  held  in  grateful  memory  all 
over  the  world  for  this  event — where  seventy- 
five  women  banded  themselves  together  to  go 
forth  to  win  the  world  for  Christ.  This  was  the 
first  board  that  claimed  the  world  for  its  field. 

On  the  first  page  of  the  first  record-book, 
which  is  now  more  than  forty  years  old,  appeared 
the  above  facts.  In  May,  1875,  the  first  auxiliary 
was  organized  in  the  Euclid  Avenue  Church, 
Cleveland.  Later  in  the  same  month,  at  Steuben- 
ville,  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  held 
its  annual  convention,  and  at  this  meeting  the 
women  gathered  early  in  the  morning  and 
adopted  resolutions  to  present  to  the  brethren. 
Upon  receiving  them,  the  president  caused  a 
resolution  to  be  recorded,  to  the  effect  that  this 

241 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


new  Woman's  Board  would  receive  the  sym- 
pathy, prayers  and  support  of  the  Ohio  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society.  The  State  secretaries 
and  agents  of  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  gave  help  to  the 
work  and  assisted  the  women  in  organizing 
auxiliaries.  Mrs.  Sarah  Bartlett,  of  Brooklyn 
Village,  was  the  first  life  member  and  first  pres- 
ident. She,  however,  resigned,  and  Miss  Phebe 
Allen  succeeded  her.  Next  in  order  are  the  pres- 
idents of  the  Ohio  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions:  Mrs.  C.  C.  Smith,  Mrs.  B.  E.  Ayles- 
worth,  Mrs.  Henry  Gerould,  Mrs.  Frederick 
Truedley,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Wakefield,  Mrs.  M.  F. 
Miles,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Grable,  Mrs.  A.  R.  Teachout, 
Mrs.  Anna  R.  Atwater,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Dilley,  Mrs. 
S.  H.  Bartlett,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Baker,  Mrs.  F.  A. 
Cramer. 

The  State  secretaries  are:  Mrs.  Ida  Sloan 
Weeden,  Miss  Jessie  Brown,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Powers, 
Mrs.  A.  C.  Pierson  and  Mary  A.  Lyons,  just  clos- 
ing her  twenty-fifth  year  of  service. 

From  1875  to  1882,  $36,817.27  was  raised  for 
the  work.  Since  1882  to  1917,  $529,449.78  has 
been  raised,  making  a  total  of  $566,623.94  by  the 
Ohio  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions. 

Apr.  1,  1917,  there  were  270  auxiliaries  and 
8,563  members,  and  they  raised  in  the  year  just 
closed,  $46,338.56. 

The  State  employs  Mary  A.  Lyons  as  field 
secretary,  who  in  the  past  twenty-five  years  has 
attended  945  district  conventions,  making  two  or' 
more  addresses  in  each;  also  attended  twenty- 
five  national  and  thirty  State  conventions,  and 
averages  about  170  places  visited  each  year. 

The  state  publishes  the  Ohio  Counselor  bi- 
monthly. 

242 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Miss  Mary  A.  Lyons 


Miss  Bettie  Wilson        Mrs.  A.  R.  Atwater      Mrs.  Jessie  B.  Pounds 

LEADEKS  AND  HELPEES,   OHIO  C.  W.  B.  M.,  1917 

243 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XXVI 

MARY  ALICE  LYONS 

TN  the  National  Capitol  at  Washington  is  a  room 
devoted  to  statuary  of  eminent  citizens  of 
our  country.  The  statue  of  only  one  woman  ap- 
pears— Frances  Willard.  The  founder  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  is  rightly 
entitled  to  a  marble  statue.  She  helped  to  start 
in  motion  a  movement  for  temperance  that  is 
triumphing.  School-teacher  that  she  was,  she 
has  become  the  teacher  of  temperance  to  the 
world. 

Mary  Alice  Lyons,  for  twenty-five  years  the 
leader  in  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions in  Ohio,  is  a  marvelous  teacher  of  good 
things.  She  teaches  lessons  of  frugality  by  her 
early  life;  she  teaches  persons  who  have  made 
mistakes  in  religion  to  correct  those  mistakes  by 
conforming  to  New  Testament  instruction; 
through  her  faithfulness,  perseverance  and  self- 
sacrifice,  she  teaches  what  one  consecrated  person 
can  do,  and  what  an  army  of  such  women  can  do 
when  organized  in  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions  work. 

Bartholomew  Lyons,  her  father,  was  educated 
for  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood,  and  had  a 
good  knowledge  of  Latin,  which  he  used  during  a 
long  life  assisting  at  mass.  Her  mother  was  En- 
glishborn  and  a  Protestant.   She  united  with  her 

244 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


lover  and  husband  in  the  Catholic  Church.  Bar- 
tholomew Lyons  was  an  example  of  devotion, 
never  omitting  to  give  thanks  at  his  table,  and 
also  trained  his  large  family  of  five  boys  and 
three  daughters  in  the  doctrine  of  the  church. 

For  ten  years  after  marriage  the  Lyons 
family  lived  in  Cleveland,  and  then  moved  on 
a  farm  in  Medina  County.  The  young  people  had 
not  the  best  opportunity  for  an  education,  and 
learned  to  be  self-helpful.  Mary  did  sewing  and 
other  things  leading  to  self-independence.  She 
taught  school.  A  Bible  fell  into  her  hands  and 
she  became  interested  in  reading  it.  She  com- 
pared it  with  the  Douay  Bible,  and  could  not 
reconcile  the  teaching  of  the  Catholics  with  what 
she  read.  A  "History  of  All  Religions"  fell  into 
her  hands,  and  she  decided  that  the  "Disciples 
of  Christ"  were  in  the  right.  On  Christmas  Day, 
1881,  she  confessed  her  faith  in  Christ,  and  on 
New  Year's  day,  1882,  was  baptized  by  H.  R. 
Cooley,  in  Cleveland.  Mary  says  "this  nearly 
broke  her  father's  heart."  After  twenty  years, 
he  became  reconciled  to  his  daughter's  course. 
She  had  dignified  womanhood  and  her  faith,  and 
he  became  reconciled  and  loved  his  daughter. 

She  attended  high  school,  taught  by  W.  H.  C. 
Newington,  and  says  she  owes  much  to  him  for 
what  education  she  has.  For  three  years  New- 
ington and  his  wife  were  her  teachers,  friends 
and  counselors.  She  then  taught  school  and 
secured  funds  to  begin  college  work  at  Hiram. 
She  spent  five  years  at  Hiram,  graduating  in 
1893.  She  was  a  student  volunteer  and  desired 
to  go  as  a  missionary,  but  failed  to  pass  medical 
examination.  In  her  college  Junior  year  she  was 
appointed  secretary  of  the  Ohio  C.  W.  B.  M., 

245 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


and  at  the  Ohio  State  Convention  at  Belief  ontaine, 
in  1917,  she  gave  a  resume  of  her  twenty-five 
years'  work.  That  summary  is  published  in  this 
history.  Has  any  woman  among  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  in  Ohio  or  any  other  State,  done  a 
greater  or  more  far-reaching  work  than  Mary 
A.  Lvons? 

At  the  Bellefontaine  0.  C.  M.  S.  and  C.  W.  B. 

M.  Convention,  May  21-25,  1917,  Mary  Alice 
Lvons  gave  a  survey  of  twentv-five  vears  of 
Q\  W.  B.  M.  ser\dce  (1892-1917).  *  She  said: 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  from  my  window  in 
Bowler  Hall  at  Hiram  College,  I  watched  a  hack- 
load  of  happy  delegates  starting  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  for  the  Bellaire  State  Convention. 
Up  to  the  last  mail  on  Saturday,  I  was  counted  as 
one  of  the  number,  but,  alas !  the  money  did  not 
come,  so,  saying  not  a  word,  but  sorely  disap- 
pointed, I  had  to  give  up  the  last  ray  of  hope  to 
attend  the  wonderful  convention  of  our  dreams. 
Monday,  breakfast  over,  the  girls  gathered  in  the 
parlor  when  they  saw  me  coming  in,  all  with  one 
accord  demanding  why  I  was  not  on  my  way  to 
Bellaire.  Alma  McMillin  took  things  in  hand, 
and,  within  fifteen  minutes,  dressed,  packed,  cash 
in  hand  and  hack  at  the  door,  away  I  went  to  the 
first  convention,  by  way  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road. There  I  made  my  maiden  speech.  The 
secretary  who  was  elected  refused  to  accept. 
Weeks  later,  the  Board  elected  me  to  serve  out 
her  term,  and  I  am  still  at  it. 

Mrs.  A.  C.  Pierson,  retiring  secretary,  gave 
the  following  report  at  Bellaire  in  1892: 

Number  of  auxiliaries  in  the  State   143 

Numbers  of  members.   3,186 

Amount  raised  for  the  National  Board-  _   $4,145.31 


246 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Amount  raised  for  State  work.  „   122.46 

Balance  in  the  State  treasury   1.44 

Keport  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1917, 
is  as  foUows: 

Number  of  societies   270 

Membership  of  the  State  _   8,563 

Missionary  Tidings  circulated   4,194 

Ohio  Counselors  published  by  the  State  Society   7j200 

Number  of  societies  on  honor  roU  for  perfect  work  119 

Number  of  societies  observing  C.  W.  B.  M.  Day   194 

Amount  raised  in  specials  and  on  C.  W.  B.  M.  Day   $10,185.10 

Contributing  churches    85 

Amount  contributed  by  churches   $5,213.84 

Total  amount  sent  to  the  national  treasury   41,575.90 

Amount  for  State  Development  Fund   4,478.57 

Amount  received  at  district  convention  and  subscrip- 
tions to  Counselor    284.09 


Grand  total  raised    $46,338.56 

Curiosity  led  me  to  search  the  records  of  the 
C.  W.  B.  M.  in  Ohio  from  its  beginning,  to  see 
how  much  the  State  has  really  contributed.  The 
records  show  that  from  1875  to  1892  there  was 
raised,  $36,817.27,  and  during  the  twenty-five 
years  since  then  there  has  been  raised  $529,806.67, 
making  a  grand  total  for  all  purposes  of  $566,- 
623.94. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  the  cost  of  service 
in  the  past  twenty-five  years.  The  average  salary 
of  the  secretary  was  $854  per  annum,  and  the 
average  wage  of  ofl&ce  help  was  $103.70  per 
annum,  or  an  average  of  $957.70  for  salaries  per 
year. 

I  have  attended  945  district  conventions  in 
this  time,  thirty  State  conventions  and  twenty- 
five  national  conventions,  making  995,  and  made 
1,990  convention  addresses.  Have  averaged 
ninety-seven  places  visited  in  the  interest  of  the 
work  each  year,  occupied  pulpits  about  thirty 

247 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Sundays  in  each  year,  often  speaking  three  and 
four  times  each  Lord's  Day  when  out,  and  had  a 
hand  in  all  the  work  of  the  church,  teaching  in 
Sunday  school,  reviewing  the  schools,  meeting 
the  Junior  C.  E.  or  Circles  in  the  afternoon  and 
organizing  societies,  as  well  as  speaking  every 
evening  somewhere. 

The  office  work  has  been  largely  done  by 
myself,  having  help  only  nine  out  of  the  twenty- 
five  years.  We  have  published  for  many  years 
a  monthly  paper  of  sixteen  pages,  with  7,200 
copies  per  issue,  now  bimonthly,  owing  to  high 
cost  of  paper.  We  have  a  well-equipped  office, 
and  the  Board  is  quite  willing  to  provide  all  the 
office  help  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work. 

As  we  look  back  over  the  years,  some  things 
seem  very  like  dreams.  In  1894-96,  the  one  great 
thing  was  to  introduce  the  State  dues  of  five 
cents  per  month.  It  took  more  time,  patience 
and  grace  to  have  this  small  coin  adopted  as  a 
part  of  our  regular  work  than  it  would  now  to 
raise  as  many  thousand  dollars.  So  the  story  of 
the  nickel,  from  the  day  it  was  launched  in  Chi- 
cagx)  in  1893,  when  W.  T.  Moore,  on  a  visit  from 
England,  ridiculed  us  for  talking  such  small 
things.  He  said  that  when  he  left  America  the 
women  were  talking  ten-cent  pop-guns,  and  now, 
after  nearly  twenty  years,  they  are  considering 
a  smaller  gun.  Mrs.  Burgess  rose  and  said  that 
we  women  had  killed  much  opposition  to  missions 
with  the  ten-cent  gun  and  expected  to  enlist  a 
great  army  with  the  five-cent  ones,  and  her  say- 
ing has  come  true.  Ohio  has  from  this  fund  paid 
the  first  thousand  dollars  for  the  union  college 
in  Ginlin  CoUege  for  girls  at  Nanking,  China; 
has  sent  three  organs  to  India  to  sing  the  gospel 

248 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


into  the  hearts  of  the  natives  and  to  cheer  the 
homes  of  the  missionaries;  has  helped  negro 
churches  to  build,  and  contributed  many  a  hun- 
dred to  the  national  treasury.  Ohio  has  in  the 
twenty-five  years  paid  for  the  Maudha  (India) 
mission  station  building,  the  South  American 
Christian  Institute,  a  native  church  in  Mexico, 
built  a  sewing  cabin  at  Lum,  Ala.,  and  equipped 
it  with  material  and  machines.  Ohio  has  now 
fifteen  living  links  supported  under  the  C.  W.  B. 
M.,  organized  within  the  last  ten  years,  and  we 
trust  it  will  be  one  hundred  before  another  ten 
years  passes. 

Consider  some  of  the  great  things  the 
National  Board  has  done  in  the  past.  We  have 
seen,  in  the  twenty-five  years,  the  beginning  of 
the  Bible  Chair  work,  and  this  has  done  one 
thing  for  the  church;  namely,  made  us  known 
among  the  educated  peoples  as  nothing  before 
had  done.  Men  and  women  are  in  every  land  who 
have  studied  under  these  teachers.  We  have  seen 
work  opened  in  Africa,  China,  Canada  and  Ori- 
ental work  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  mountain 
work  has  been  handed  over  to  us  by  the  breth- 
ren. We  were  present  at  Kansas  City  when  the 
Smith  brothers  (C.  C.  and  B.  L.)  came  and  of- 
fered us  a  $70,000  gift  from  the  American  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society,  and  all  the  responsibil- 
ity of  training  the  negroes  of  the  Southland,  and 
we  accepted  it  and  proved  our  ability  to  teach 
school. 

We  have,  with  pride  in  the  churches,  seen  the 
leaders  show  such  willingness  to  help  those 
women,  too,  and  have  cause  to  believe  it  is  only 
a  beginning  of  what  shall  be.  We  have  also 
seen  the  day  now  when  the  work  of  the  C.  W.  B. 

249 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


M.  shall  be  taught  in  Sunday  school  and  doubt 
not  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  the  chil- 
dren shall  make  an  offering  through  the  school 
to  this  Board  that  has  for  so  many  years  trained 
the  children  for  leadership  in  missions. 

In  looking  over  my  parish,  I  can  see  no  cause 
of  complaint,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  much  in 
which  to  rejoice.  The  ministry  of  Ohio  has  been 
most  helpful  and  cordial  in  assisting  the  women 
in  the  work.  We  see  an  educated  constituency  in 
missions  because  of  mission-study  classes  and 
libraries.  We  have  four  thousand  homes  read- 
ing the  Missionary  Tidings,  and  seven  thousand 
reading  the  Ohio  Counselor.  We  distribute  thou- 
sands of  leaflets  each  year  among  the  societies. 
We  urge  the  women  to  attend  interdenomina- 
tional summer  schools  of  missions. 

We  have  organized  the  young  ladies  into  Mis- 
sion Circles  where  they  are  receiving  the  very 
best  of  training  for  larger  service.  We  still 
guide  the  children  in  the  knowledge  of  the  world 
need  of  the  Saviour,  and  last,  but  greatest  of  all, 
the  prayer  life  of  the  members  of  these  mission- 
ary organizations  permeates  the  whole  church, 
so  that  every  interest  receives  a  kindly  hearing 
in  a  church  where  an  active  group  of  C.  W.  B.  M. 
women  live,  teach,  give  and  pray,  and  they  are 
ready  to  serve  at  home  as  well  as  in  the  wide 
world. 

I  can  not  close  this  survey  without  acknowl- 
edging the  debt  I  owe  to  Bro.  Alanson  Wilcox, 
as  he  was  secretary  of  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  during 
the  first  several  years  of  my  work  and  greatly 
aided  me  and  was  always  making  a  place  for  my 
work.  Then,  Robert  Moffett  served  for  seven 
more  years.    I  learned  very  much  from  him  of 

250 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  spirit  of  the  early  work  of  the  C.  W.  B.  M. 
It  was  he  who  helped  establish  it  in  Ohio,  and  we 
who  now  live  and  work  owe  much  to  Robert 
Moffett,  Isaac  Errett  and  others,  as  well  as  to 
Mesdames  Sloan,  Gerould,  Powers  and  Weeden. 

The  five-year  campaign,  in  which  societies, 
members  and  funds  are  to  be  doubled,  is  a  goal 
worthy  of  the  daughters  of  such  fathers  and 
mothers  in  the  faith.  Ohio  is  to  have  500  soci- 
eties, 10,000  members  and  $70,000  in  1921.  Help 
us  make  Ohio  a  missionary  brotherhood;  plant 
this  spirit  in  every  congregation  and  they  will 
prosper. 


251 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XXVII 

THE  CHURCH  AT  HILLSBORO 

T-HE  church  at  Hillsboro  was  planted  in  1888. 

W.  D.  Moore  and  Alanson  Wilcox,  of  the  O.  0. 
M.  S.,  had  done  preliminary  preaching  in  the 
court-house.  The  0.  C.  M.  S.  secretary  paved 
the  way  for  the  great  meeting  held  by  Evangelist 
J.  V.  Updike.  He  wrote  as  follows  for  the  county 
paper : 

"The  religious  people  known  as  disciples  of 
Christ  have  had  a  remarkable  growth.  They 
started  in  Ohio  about  sixty  years  ago,  and  have 
450  churches  in  Ohio.  In  the  whole  country  they 
number  a  million  communicants.  They  sustain 
thirty  institutions  of  learning  and  thirty  periodi- 
cals. They  have  missionaries  in  foreign  lands. 
One  of  their  home  societies  has  expended  $1,500,- 
000,  and  added  to  the  churches  fully  one  hundred 
thousand  members. 

"In  doctrine  the  disciples  claim  to  take  ad- 
vanced ground.  Instead  of  trying  to  reform  the 
modern  churches,  which  have  more  or  less,  as 
they  claim,  departed  from  the  teaching  and  prac- 
tice of  the  apostolic  church,  they  aim  at  a  resto- 
ration of  the  teaching,  faith  and  practice  of  the 
original  church  planted  by  Christ,  through  his 
apostles,  and  which  commenced  fifty  days  after 
the  death  of  the  Saviour.  They  claim  to  recog- 
nize all  that  is  Scriptural  and  divine  in  all  the 

252 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


churches,  and  to  object  only  to  that  which  is 
merely  human  in  origin.  There  is  only  one  arti- 
cle in  their  formula  of  faith,  which  declares  Jesus 
to  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Building  on 
this  truth,  they  claim  that  believers  will  be  bap- 
tized and  follow  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  the  rule  of  life,  and  will  build  up  Chris- 
tian character  which  will  hereafter  admit  per- 
sons into  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

*'In  pleading  for  original  Christianity,  they 
advocate  the  unity  of  the  household  of  faith,  and 
to  this  end  all  human  opinions  must  be  discarded 
as  tests  of  fellowship,  and  only  the  divine  will 
can  be  made  the  standard  of  faith  and  practice. 

"The  disciples  have  thirteen  churches  in 
Highland  County,  and  the  people  of  Hillsboro 
will  have  an  opportunity  to  learn  more  of  this 
remarkable  people. 

"A  tent  has  been  secured,  and  the  successful 
evangelist  of  northern  Ohio,  J.  V.  Updike,  as- 
sisted by  Singing  Evangelist  J.  E.  Hawes,  will 
conunence  the  meeting  the  last  of  May." 

In  the  meeting  Hawes  sang  the  following 
hymn: 

THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST. 

The  day  of  Pentecost  the  Holy  Spirit  eame, 

He  sat  upon  apostles  and  looked  like  lambent  flame; 

He  taught  what  Christ  had  told  them,  they  wrote  it  in  a  book, 

Ajid  in  that  book — the  Bible — he  tells  us  where  to  look. 

Chorus. 

Now  the  Spirit  holy,  he  will  guide  us  safely. 
If  we  read  the  Bible,  there  he  guides  aright; 
Now  the  Spirit  holy,  into  life  and  glory, 
He  will  guide  us  safely,  if  we  trust  his  Ught. 

The  day  of  Pentecost,  the  church  of  God  began, 
And  Peter  said  to  sinners:  "Eepent  now  while  you  can; 
You  must  obey  the  Saviour,  he  wiU  your  sins  forgive, 
And  thus  the  Holy  Spirit  with  you  wiU  always  live." — Cho. 

253 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  day  of  Pentecost,  the  law  of  God  went  out; 

Three  thousand  sinners  then  obeyed,  the  name  of  Christ  to  shout. 

So,  now  let  all  receive  him,  his  word  has  not  been  changed; 

It  is  the  only  safe  way,  from  earth  to  heaven  arranged. — Oho. 

This  hymn  has  in  it  the  poetry  of  truth.  The 
tnne  was  well  adapted  to  the  words,  and  the 
hymn  became  popular. 

Some  negroes  attended  the  tent  meeting,  and 
one  afternoon  an  old  negro,  sitting  a  few  seats 
from  the  front,  gradually  raised  up  as  Updike 
began  to  warm  up,  and  then,  raising  his  hand, 
bringing  it  down  with  two  blows,  cried  out, 
''He's  gettin'  dar,  he's  gettin'  dar."  And  he 
did  get  there  with  eighty  baptisms  and  forty-six 
other  additions — in  all,  126 — and  the  church  was 
organized. 

This  is  only  a  sample  of  the  work  done  by 
the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society. 


254 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXVIII 

CENTRAL  OHIO 

p  lONEER  ministers  of  central  Ohio  were :  R.  R. 

Sloan,  R.  Moffett,  John  Encell,  Cyrus  Mc- 
Neeley,  Alexander  Hall,  J.  G.  Mitchell,  Nathan 
Mitchell,  Israel  Belton,  D.  A.  Hannum,  A.  Gard- 
ner, John  Hick,  L.  M.  ,Harvey,  John  Sinclair,  E. 
Worther,  Nathan  Moody,  J.  M.  Dicky,  W.  Michem, 
J.  Kenderson,  Mahlon  Martin,  Benjamin  Lock- 
hart,  D.  Shrapless,  C.  E.  Van  Vorhis,  Wm.  Hayes, 
Andrew  Bums,  Henry  Dixon,  John  Read,  S.  R. 
Willard,  0.  Higgins,  T.  D.  Garvin,  J.  H.  Garvin, 
T.  N.  Madden,  A.  Lemert,  J.  B.  Millison,  A.  Skid- 
more,  S.  P.  Moody,  Q.  A.  Randall,  N.  A.  Walker, 
Adam  Moore,  M.  Riddle,  J.  W.  Lowe,  Isaiah 
Jones,  W.  S.  Lowe,  W.  L.  Neal,  A.  B.  Williams, 
James  Williams,  S.  B.  Teagarden,  R.  Winbigler, 
Hiram  Wood,  J.  A.  Barr,  A.  B.  Way,  Timothy  J. 
Newcomb,  Wm.  Dowling,  Hiram.  Wood,  S. 
McBride,  L.  R.  Norton  and  others. 

DocTOB  Wm.  Hayes. 

Back  in  the  thirties  and  forties  and  fifties,  the 
Restoration  movement  depended  very  largely 
upon  an  itinerant  ministry.  And  even  in  the  six- 
ties and  seventies  and  eighties  the  ''stalwarts" 
made  long  journeys  on  horseback  and  in  buggy — 
proclaiming,  as  they  went,  the  catholic  plea  for 

17  255 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


union  wMcli  fired  communities  and  resulted  in 
our  present  influential  churches. 

There  were  giants  in  those  days" — not  only 
in  the  pulpit,  but  by  the  roadside.  It  was  a  day 
of  free  entertainment  for  the  heralds  of  the 
cross,  and  many  houses  were  imown  as  "preach- 
ers' homes." 

One  of  these  hospitable  houses  stood  about 
eight  miles  from  Mt.  Vernon,  O.  It  was  the 
home  of  Dr.  Wm.  Hayes,  a  "veritable  preachers' 
hotel."  Such  men  as  Isaac  Errett,  Robert  Mof- 
f ett,  Norton,  Huffman  and  Gardner  held  meetings 
at  the  Simmons  Church,  and  they  always  "put 
up"  with  Dr.  Hayes.  Here  the  neighbors 
gathered  with  the  family  on  the  veranda  in  sum- 
mer, in  the  "sitting-room"  in  winter,  and  listened 
to  the  preacher  explain  the  Scriptures  or  tell  of 
the  progress  the  cause  was  making  in  other 
places.  Here  the  "big  dinners"  were  served — 
after  the  distinguished  guest  had  "said  grace." 
It  was  a  religious  home,  a  hospitable  home,  a 
happy  home,  a  great  home. 

Dr.  Hayes  was  not  only  the  preachers'  friend, 
but  himself  a  preacher  of  power.  He  practiced 
his  profession  during  the  week,  and  on  Sunday, 
when  no  "regular  preacher"  was  present,  he 
delivered  the  sermon  and  dispensed  the  emblems. 
He  wielded  a  mighty  influence  for  good  in  his 
community,  which  means  that  he  was  a  great 
man. 

John  Encell 

Knox  County  gave  some  good  Restoration 
preachers  to  the  cause.  James  Encell  was  an 
able  expounder  of  the  Word.  He  gave  illustrated 
lectures,  especially  on  the  Revelation  as  found  at 

256 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


the  close  of  the  New  Testament.  John  Encell 
was  a  good  singer  and  evangelist.  Wellington 
was  one  of  the  churches  he  planted.  He  gave  a 
new  version  of  "The  Old  Parson's  Story,"  and 
lovingly  dedicated  it  to  the  ''old  preachers": 

I'm  an  old-faaMoned  kind  of  a  preacher, 

The  Jerusalem  story  I  tell; 
How  often,  how  often  I've  told  it; 

Dear  story,  I  love  it  so  well. 
For  many  bright  years  I've  been  preaching 

The  story  that  came  from  above. 
While  earnestly  lost  ones  beseeching 

To  hear  the  glad  message  of  love. 

'Tis  still  my  delight  and  my  glory 

To  tell  of  a  Saviour  once  slain, 
That  the  dying  may  hear  the  glad  story 

Of  life  through  Immanuel's  name. 
Thro'  aU  of  my  years  yet  remaining, 

May  strength  unto  me  still  be  g^iven, 
This  message  of  mercy  proclaiming 

To  help  many  hearts'  hope  for  heaven. 

Many  noble  and  true  ones  ha'-e  left  me; 

Their  pure  lives  have  come  to  a  close; 
They  sleep  in  the  silent  old  churchyard. 

And  there,  too,  I  soon  will  repose. 
Dear  battle-worn  vet'rans  of  Zion, 

Our  stay  in  this  world  won't  be  long: 
Let  us  try  to  be  faithful  and  cheerful, 

And  finish  it  up  with  a  song. 

There's  a  bright  crown  the  faithful  awaiting, 

A  scepter,  a  robe  and  a  palm, 
And  glories  forever  unfading 

In  the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
We  shall  soon  meet  the  loved  gone  before  us, 

In  the  mansions  eternally  fair: 
We  shall  soon  sing  the  heavenly  chorus. 

And  we'll  never  grow  old  over  there; 

No,  we'll  never  grow  old  over  there. 

At.kxatjdkb  Wikfoed  Hat.t. 

Alexander  Wilford  Hall  was  a  remarkable 
man,  and  possessed  a  great  memory,  and  was  ex- 
ceedingly shrewd.   He  was  an  antagonist  of  Uni- 

257 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


versalism.  He  soon  learned  all  the  arguments 
of  Universalists  and  passages  of  Scripture  used 
by  them  in  support  of  their  doctrine — how  they 
construed  and  supplied  them — and  framed  a 
reply.  He  usually  contrived  to  turn  their  argu- 
ments and  the  Scripture  quoted  against  them. 
He  wrote  a  book  entitled  "Universalism  Against 
Itself."  It  created  a  profound  sensation. 
Twenty-five  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  two 
years.  It  has  been  issued  again  in  these  days  and 
is  meeting  with  sales. 

A  favorite  argument  of  Universalists  of  those 
early  days  was  as  foUows:  "God  is  infinitely 
'good,  so  that  he  would  save  everybody  if  he 
could.  But  he  is  infinitely  powerful,  so  that  he 
can  save  everybody  if  he  will.  Therefore,  he 
will  save  everybody."  To  this  HaU  replied — 
first  quoting  the  Scripture,  "Vengeance  belongs 
to  ine:  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord" — "God  is 
infinite  in  vengeance,  so  that  he  would  damn 
everybody  if  he  could.  But  he  is  infinite  in 
power,  so  that  he  can  damn  everybody  if  he  wiU. 
Therefore,  he  will  damn  everybody." 

It  is  said  he  was  to  debate  with  a  Universal- 
ist,  who  came  with  many  books;  and  his  first 
speech  was  on  "The  whole  human  family  will 
finally  be  made  holy  and  happy."  Mr.  Hall  in 
five  minutes  gave  his  reply,  gave  a  statement  of 
all  the  arguments  the  man  could  produce  and 
replied  to  them,  and  sat  down  before  his  time 
was  out.  The  Universalist  was  so  overcome  that 
he  refused  to  go  any  further,  declaring  that  he 
"did  not  come  there  to  debate  with  a  man  who 
knew  everything  at  once  and  who  could  talk  like 
Hghtning."  And  so  the  debate  ended.  The  tre- 
mendous sale  of  HaU's  book  gave  him  popularity, 

258 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


W.  L.  Neal  J.  W.  Lowe  Alonzo  Skidmore 

MORE  RESTORATION  LEADERS 
259 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


and  he  started  at  Loydsville,  O.,  tlie  Gospel  Proc- 
lamation, and  published  it  there  for  two  years. 

Hall,  in  time,  settled  in  New  York  City,  and 
was  the  author  of  "The  Microcosm,"  "The  Sci- 
entific Arena,"  "Immortality  of  the  Soul,"  and 
"Problems  of  Life,  Here  and  Hereafter," 

1841 — ^AjLosrzo  Seidmoee — 1912 

Alonzo  Skidmore  was  bom  in  Union  County, 
0.,  June  7,  1841;  died  May  20,  1912,  at  East 
Liberty,  Logan  County. 

Bro.  Skidmore 's  life  was  an  especially  active 
one  from  his  youth  to  the  close  of  life. 

He  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  and  followed  this  profession 
nearly  aU  his  life.  In  1860  he  identified  himself 
with  the  disciples  of  Christ  worshiping  at  Mill 
Creek,  Logan  County.  He  gave  to  this  congre- 
gation much  service  as  elder  and  minister. 

In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  121st  Regiment  0. 
V.  I.,  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  1865  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah 
J.  Morse. 

Having  a  deep  interest  in  educational  and 
religious  questions,  he  decided  to  secure  a  college 
training. 

In  1874  he,  with  his  family,  went  to  Bethany, 
W.  Va.,  where  he  spent  four  years  as  a  student, 
graduating  with  the  honors  of  his  class  in  1878. 
The  following  year  he  was  engaged  as  a  profes- 
sor in  his  alma  mater  and  as  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Bethany.  In  both  of  these  ,  positions  he 
achieved  marked  success. 

From  Bethany  he  went  to  South  Butler,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  held  a  pastorate.  The  next  place 
to  caU  him  was  a  coUege  at  North  Middleton,  in 

260 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Kentucky,  with  E.  V.  Zollars  as  coworker.  Leav- 
ing Kentucky,  he  came  back  to  his  old  home  and, 
in  1882,  organized,  at  East  Liberty,  * '  The  Central 
Ohio  College,"  and  conducted  it,  with  fine  re- 
sults, until  1890.  During  these  years  of  college 
work  in  East  Liberty  he,  in  co-operation  with  the 
Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  (Alanson  Wil- 
cox, secretary),  organized  the  church  and  min- 
istered to  it  in  many  helpful  ways. 

In  1890  he,  with  his  family,  went  to  Texas, 
where  he  accepted  a  professorship  in  Texas 
Christian  University.  A  few  years  later  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio  and  taught  in  Hiram  College.  Li 
1894  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  church  at  Marion 
and  remained  with  this  church  six  years.  At  the 
close  of  this  pastorate  he  again  came  to  East 
Liberty,  where  he  lived  and  wrought  a  good 
work. 

During  the  years  of  his  teaching  and  preach- 
ing he  managed  his  farm  by  mail,  with  much  suc- 
cess to  himself  and  tenants.  He  continued  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  farming,  with  the  idea 
that  he  wished  to  minister,  preach  and  teach  as 
much  as  possible  at  his  own  expense  or  with  as 
little  remuneration  as  possible.  To  him  the  farm 
was  the  same  as  Paul's  tent-making,  to  enable 
him  to  live  by  the  work  of  his  own  hand  and  to 
give  to  him  that  needeth. 


2SL 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXIX 

THE  OHIO  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 

"^HE  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  is  a 
voluntary  association  of  disciples  of  Christ 
for  propagating  the  gospel  and  helping  weak 
churches.  The  society  is  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  The  trustees  are  es- 
pecially incorporated  to  hold  and  manage  moneys 
in  the  interests  of  the  society. 

It  was  organized  at  Wooster,  0.,  May  12. 
1852.  Alexander  Campbell  was  present  on  the 
occasion  and  delivered  an  address.  Isaac  Errett 
was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  meeting.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  society  marked  the  beginning 
of  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  disciples  of 
Christ.  Some  years  later,  while  the  brethren 
were  still  struggling  with  the  vexed  problem  of 
co-operative  missionary  work,  Alexander  Camp- 
bell earnestly  exhorted  the  brethren  to  be  stead- 
fast in  this  enterprise,  "for,"  said  he,  "the  whole 
future  of  organized  missionary  work  among  the 
disciples  of  Christ  depends  on  the  Ohio  Society." 

Before  the  organization  of  the  society,  co- 
operative work  had  been  done  in  northeastern 
Ohio.  From  1827-30,  Walter  Scott,  as  the  evan- 
gelist of  this  co-operation,  worked  within  the 
territory  of  the  Mahoning  Association.  This 
early  co-operation  accounts  for  the  strength  of 
the  disciples  in  the  Western  Reserve.    Its  con- 

263 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


tinuance  and  extension  at  that  time  would  have 
covered  the  whole  State.  Later  there  arose  some 
objection  to  co-operation.  In  the  interest  of 
hoped-for  peace,  the  brethren  yielded  to  the  ob- 
jectors, and  the  co-operative  work  ceased  in  1830. 

More  than  a  score  of  years  were  wasted  in 
demonstrating  the  impractical  nature  of  the 
theories  that  had  disrupted  a  vital  and  conquer- 
ing work.  Then  wise  brethren  were  impelled  to 
return  to  the  old  and  eminently  Christian  way 
of  fraternal  co-operation  for  aggressive  work  of 
enlargement. 

From  1852  this  co-operative  work  has  had  the 
untiring  devotion  of  wise  and  good  men.  Many 
leading  brethren  served  freely  in  unofficial  capac- 
ity. Men  held  in  honor  in  all  the  churches  of  the 
State  served  as  officers  and  employees. 

The  presidents  of  the  society  have  been: 
David  S.  Burnet,  J.  P.  Robison,  R.  M.  Bishop, 
Isaac  Errett,  R.  R.  Sloan,  B.  A.  Hinsdale,  T.  D. 
Garvin,  R.  Moffett,  W.  M.  Bowling,  E.  B.  Wake- 
field, J.  Z.  Tyler,  A.  J.  Marvin,  E.  V.  Zollars, 
Russell  Errett,  J.  M.  VanHorn,  C.  J.  Tannar,  G. 
P.  Coler,  S.  L.  Darsie,  J.  W.  Allen,  J.  A.  Lord, 
H.  McDiarmid,  Benj.  L.  Smith,  C.  W.  HufPer, 
Justin  N.  Green,  J.  G.  Slayter,  M.  L.  Bates,  A. 
M.  Harvuot,  A.  R.  Webber,  H.  Newton  MiUer,  J. 
E.  Lynn,  T.  W.  Pinkerton,  I.  J.  CahiU,  Geo.  Dar- 
sie, John  P.  Sala,  W.  F.  Rothenburger,  P.  H. 
Welshimer,  W.  D.  Ward,  T.  L.  Lowe,  C.  B.  Rey- 
nolds. 

The  corresponding  secretaries  have  been :  Lee 
Lord,  Isaac  Errett,  A.  S.  Hayden,  J.  H.  Jones, 
W.  A.  Belding,  R.  R.  Sloan,  Robert  Moffett, 
Alanson  Wilcox,  S.  H.  Bartlett,  H.  Newton  Mil- 
ler, I.  J.  Cahill. 

264 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Noyes  P.  Gallup  C.  A.  Hanna 

OTHEB  LEADEES  JN  O.  C.  M.  S.  WORK 

265 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  financial  plan  of  tlie  earlier  period  pro- 
vided that  offerings  should  be  sent  to  the  district 
secretaries.  HaK  the  amount  was  retained  and 
expended  within  the  borders  of  the  district, 
under  the  direction  of  the  district  officers.  The 
remainder  was  forwarded  to  the  State  secretary 
and  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  State 
Board  of  Managers. 

This  order  was  later  changed,  and  all  offer- 
ings are  sent  to  the  State  Board  of  Managers. 
This  concentrates  the  work  and  makes  it  more 
effective. 

Under  this  plan  the  results  have  been  grati- 
fying. In  seventeen  years — 1900  to  1917 — exactly 
one  hundred  churches  received  assistance,  includ- 
ing twenty  that  were  yet  mission  churches  at 
the  end  of  the  period  named.  These  hundred 
churches  have  a  membership  of  eighteen  thou- 
sand, hold  church  property  valued  at  $750,000, 
and  are  now  themselves  contributing  to  missions 
$12,000  per  year.  The  new  plan  has  met  the 
changed  conditions  successfully. 

The  secret  of  success  in  planting  the  cause  in 
the  cities  that  have  become  so  numerous  in  Ohio, 
is  to  give  such  strong  support  that  the  work  may 
be  pushed  vigorously  from  the  first.  This  course 
inspires  confidence  in  the  public  mind  and  gives 
the  new  work  a  great  advantage.  The  plan  of 
placing  all  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  State  Board 
of  Managers  has  made  such  a  course  possible. 

Evangelistic  Work 

The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  the  prime  pur- 
pose of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society. 
In  addition  to  supporting  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel    by    ministers    stationed    in  mission 

266 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


churches,  the  society  has  always  laid  stress  on 
evangelism.  Walter  Scott,  under  the  employ  of 
the  Mahoning  Association,  did  a  wonderful  work 
at  the  psychological  moment  before  the  present 
society  was  organized. 

In  the  earlier  days,  among  men  who  served 
in  that  capacity,  were  Benjamin  Franklin,  Har- 
rison Jones,  Knowles  Shaw,  0.  A.  Burgess,  L.  L. 
Carpenter,  W.  A.  Belding,  Wm.  Dowling,  A. 
Burns,  J.  W.  Lanphear,  Lathrop  Cooley,  J.  J. 
Moss,  A.  B.  Green,  Wm.  Hayden  and  many 
others.  The  number  of  able  workmen,  good  and 
true,  sent  out  through  the  district  boards  of  the 
State  Society  are  too  many  to  name,  and  the  sys- 
tem of  records  under  that  plan  did  not  provide 
for  preserving  the  names. 

Since  1900  the  men  who  have  served  as  evan- 
gelists for  more  than  a  single  meeting  are :  Allan 
Wilson,  Robert  Moffett,  0.  L.  Cook,  D.  W. 
Besaw,  John  E.  Pounds,  G.  F.  Crites,  Bowman 
Hostetler,  C.  A.  Kleeberger,  G.  A.  Ragan,  Percy 
H.  Wilson,  J.  0.  Shelburne,  J.  G.  Slayter,  M.  B. 
Ryan,  S.  H.  Bartlett,  H.  Newton  Miller,  1.  J. 
Cahill,  T.  J.  White,  L.  I.  Mercer,  C.  N.  Williams, 
Traverce  Harrison,  C.  A.  MacDonald,  W.  H. 
Boden.  Other  men  held  each  a  single  meeting, 
and  many  pastors  of  the  State  held  "volunteer" 
meetings  under  direction  of  the  State  Society. 

In  pioneer  days  a  single  evangelistic  meeting 
sufficed  to  establish  a  self-supporting  church.  In 
these  days  of  higher  standards  it  requires  more 
to  constitute  a  self-supporting  church.  Besides, 
the  fixed  conditions  of  an  old  community  do  not 
allow  as  speedy  results  as  when  communities 
were  new.  The  evangelistic  work  continu-es  to 
be  fruitful. 

267 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


In  1902  the  Marietta  church-house  was 
"wrecked  by  a  cyclone.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  0.  C.  M.  S.,  the  church  received  generous  and 
timely  help  from  the  churches  of  the  State. 

In  March,  1913,  the  State  was  visited  by  an 
unprecedented  calamity.  A  great  storm  swept 
over  the  whole  State,  bringing  a  devastating 
flood  that  wrought  tremendous  destruction  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Muskingum,  the  Scioto,  the  Miami 
and  the  Ohio.  Official  returns  showed  a  loss  of 
460  lives  in  the  State;  4,200  homes  were  de- 
stroyed and  40,500  people  rendered  homeless. 

In  the  awful  devastation  and  loss  disciples 
were  heavy  sufferers.  Three  churches  were 
totally  destroyed.  Scores  suffered  heavily.  The 
0.  C.  M.  S.  received  over  $7,000  for  the  relief 
of  the  flooded  churches.  This  amount  was  dis- 
tributed among  seventeen  of  those  most  heavily 
afflicted.  Every  year  churches  are  guided 
through  serious  problems  of  indebtedness  or 
strife  or  scandal. 

The  very  existence  of  such  an  agency  as  the 
State  Society  is  a  source  of  strength  to  the  work 
everywhere  in  the  State.  When  the  flood  came 
there  was  an  agency  ready  to  hand  to  call  for 
help  and  convey  it  to  the  place  of  need.  The 
calamity  wrought  far  less  injury  to  the  churches 
because  there  was  a  tried  and  trusted  means  to 
carry  the  needed  help. 

Pebmajtent  Funds 

An  important  feature  of  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sionary society  is  the  accumulation  of  funds,  the 
income  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  work.  Such 
funds  are  a  bulwark  of  strength.  The  society 
now  has  in  trust: 

268 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Bumet  Educational  Fund  $  25,385.03 

Trust  funds  for  individual  churehea   7,000.00 

Funds  for  use  in  special  fields   6,000.00 

Evangelistic  funds   28,708.60 

General  funds  -   24,367.97 

Annuities    20,325.00 

Emergency  Building  Fund  .   4,047.05 


A  total  of  $115,733.65 


The  Ohio  Society  has  fostered  the  work  of 
the  American  Christian  Missionary  Society,  the 
Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society,  the  Chris- 
tian Woman's  Board  of  Missions,  and  the  Sun- 
day-school work  of  the  society  stimulates  the  life 
of  all  the  schools.  They  receive  strength  from 
this  ministry  and,  in  turn,  they  minister  through 
all  the  missionary  and  benevolent  agencies. 

The  society  statistics  aggregate  214,610  days 
of  service;  126,720  sermons;  accessions,  56,427; 
churches  organized,  353;  money  disbursed,  $725,- 
949.09;  cost  of  each  accession,  $12. 

Objections 

Objections  have  been  made  by  individuals  and 
churches  to  co-operative  work  in  evangelizing,  or 
society  work.  The  answer  was,  ''Let  there  be 
light."  Newspaper  opposition  to  co-operation 
does  not  always  reflect  the  feelings  of  the  masses. 
When  the  opposition  of  this  character  appeared, 
articles  were  written  furnishing  Scriptural  argu- 
ments for  co-operation  and  bristling  with  the 
facts  of  the  present  times  and  missions  and  evan- 
gelistic work.  This  has  done  much  toward  over- 
coming the  objection. 

Then,  it  was  constantly  declared  that  no 
society  or  co-operation  has  any  ecclesiastical 
authority.  It  was  afl&rmed  that  such  associations 
are  voluntary  and  have  but  one  object,  and  that 

269 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


is  to  give  wings  to  the  gospel  in  harmony  with 
the  commission  in  which  Christ  says:  "Go  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture." The  objectors  who  hang  back  and  stay  at 
home  are  not  in  line  with  Christ's  spirit  and 
teaching,  and  are  in  the  unscriptural  way  and 
should  change  their  attitude.  Sister  Lhamon 
said:  "The  way  that  hangs  back  and  says  'I 
won't  go  this  way,'  and  'I  won't  go  that  way,' 
and  does  not  go  at  all,  is  the  most  unscriptural 
thing  under  heaven." 

One  way  to  silence  objectors  to  society  work 
was  to  ask  them  to  systematically,  conscientiously 
and  perseveringly  prosecute  some  way  they  have 
that  will  do  the  work.  We  will  not  oppose  you, 
but  bid  you  Godspeed.  The  world  is  perishing, 
and  by  all  Scriptural  and  expedient  means  we 
must  go  and  save  them  from  sinning  and  thus 
save  ourselves. 

Objections  have  mostly  disappeared. 

The  Ohio  Papeb 

For  at  least  thirty  years  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  has 
published  a  monthly  paper,  a  kind  of  necessity 
for  communicating  with  the  churches.  For  ten 
years,  it  was  called  the  Ohio  Standard,  then  the 
Harbinger;  now  it  is  called  Ohio  Work.  This 
paper  emphasizes  the  home  missionary  and  Sim- 
day-school  work.  Churches  planted  in  Ohio 
mean  more  contributions  for  other  lands.  Each 
number  of  the  Ohio  paper  contains  church  news, 
facts  as  to  the  progress  of  the  cause  and  incen- 
tives to  faithfulness  and  diligence  in  serving  the 
Lord.  Many  people  in  Ohio  are  practically  as 
unreached  by  the  gospel  as  are  the  pagans  of 
Africa.    They  do  not  come  to  the  churches  and 

270 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  churches  do  not  go  to  them.  There  is  close 
contiguity,  but  no  real  contact.  These  people  are 
perishing  at  our  door.  Shall  Christian  people 
stand  rigid,  frigid  statues  and  onlookers,  caring 
nothing  for  the  unsaved?  So  wrote  the  Ohio 
paper,  and  a  noble  Christian  woman  emphasized 
this  home  work  as  follows: 

THE  WOEK  AT  THE  DOOR. 
Mattie  M.  Botelee. 

Far  back  from  the  ages  departed, 

There  cometh  a  message  anew, 
And  these  are  the  words,  O  my  brother, 

That  Jesus  is  saying  to  you: 
"While  workers  are  fainting  around  you. 

Stand  careless  and  idle  no  more ; 
Lift  up  your  eyes  to  the  harvest 

That  lieth  in  front  of  your  door." 

Though  small  seems  our  strength  for  the  labor, 

Though  little  of  worth  is  our  mite. 
The  least  that  we  do  for  His  service 

Can  never  be  lost  in  His  sight; 
For  the  Father  above,  on  his  children, 

Unmeasured  his  blessings  will  pour. 
Who  take  up  the  work  uncomplaining. 

That  lieth  in  front  of  the  door. 

We  may  send  out  the  news  of  salvation 

To  the  nations  in  darkness  and  sin; 
We  may  go  to  the  uttermost  places 

And  gather  the  straying  ones  in; 
But  God  is  not  pleased  with  our  labors. 

Though  bravely  the  burden  we  bore. 
While  the  field  that  is  ripened  to  harvest 

Lies  neglected  in  front  of  our  door. 

Though  we  know  not  the  scope  of  our  labors, 

We  may  snatch  from  the  burning  some  brand 
By  faithfiolly,  earnestly  doing 

The  duty  that  lieth  at  hand; 
And  the  gospel  we  love  may  be  carried 

By  him  to  some  far-distant  shore. 
Because  we've  been  true  to  the  duty 

That  lieth  ia  front  of  our  door. 

272 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


To  the  churcli  the  commission  was  given 

That  all  nations  be  bidden  to  come, 
But  those  who  will  carry  the  message 

Must  be  given  the  gospel  at  home: 
And  the  sooner  His  glory  will  reach  them, 

Who  sat  in  the  darkness  before. 
If  we  faithfully  gather  the  harvest 

That  Ueth  in  front  of  our  door. 

Another  wrote:  "As  patriots,  disciples  of 
Christ  in  Ohio  should  do  more  evangelistic  work. 
Paul  had  a  dispensation  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
but  he  did  not  forget  Israel.  The  love  of  drink, 
the  love  of  money,  the  love  of  worldly  pleasure, 
should  not  be  the  dominating  ideas  in  our  Ohio  civ- 
ilization. The  people  must  be  educated  and  Chris- 
tianized. Philanthropy  needs  to  rise  above  self- 
gratification,  and  plan  for  purity  and  intelligence 
in  our  homes.  Christ  lived  and  died  for  others. 
When  the  disciple  acts  Christlike  there  will  come 
exhilaration  of  joy,  and  activities  becoming  the 
patriot  and  philanthropist  and  Christian. 


273 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXX 

ANNALS  OF  THE  O.  C.  M.  S. 

1815— B.  E.  Sloan— 1877 

"yHE  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society  was 
organized  in  1852.  E.  E.  Sloan  was  present 
from  Mt.  Vernon,  O.  He  came  to  Mt.  Vernon  in 
1844.  For  si^;  years  after  his  advent  there  was  no 
chiirch  of  (iisciples  at  Mt.  Vernon.  He  had  been 
reared  in  the  New  Testament  order  of  teaching 
in  western  Pennsylvania,  where  was  his  place  of 
birth.  During  the  six  years  he  was  a  member 
of  the  chnrch  at  Jelloway.  Through  his  influence, 
J.  H.  Jones  was  secured  as  evangelist,  and  on 
the  31st  day  of  January,  1850,  the  church  at  Mt. 
Vernon  was  organized  with  E.  E.  Sloan  as  over- 
seer. He  lived  in  Mt.  Vernon  twenty-two  years 
and  moved  to  Cleveland  in  1866. 

He  was  one  of  the  forty-one  delegates  of 
churches  that,  in  Wooster,  in  1852,  organized  the 
Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society.  He  was  on 
the  committee  of  five  to  propose  a  constitution. 
He  was  also  made  one  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 
From  that  time  to  his  death  he  held  an  official 
position  in  the  organization.  He  was  elected 
corresponding  secretary  in  1861.  Previous  to 
this  time  no  one  had  been  found  who  could  give 
his  entire  time  and  talents  to  the  work  of  the 
society.  *'For  eight  years,"  says  Isaac  Errett, 
''this  faithful  pilot  stood  at  the  wheel  in  all 
weathers,   at   all   seasons,   holding   the  vessel 

275 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


steadily  against  adverse  winds,  beating  up 
against  wind  and  tides  and  steering  through 
difficulties  and  perilous  places  with  sleepless 
vigilance  and  excellent  skill.  When  he  could  be 
spared  from  the  helm,  he  was  found  tugging  at 
the  oars.  He  was  captain,  mate,  steward,  cabin- 
boy  and  sailor  all  the  time — drilling  the  crew, 
laying  in  provisions,  keeping  the  log-book,  in- 
specting the  stores,  and  making  the  reckonings. 
Under  God,  this  society  owes  more  to  his  un- 
yielding patience,  unconquerable  purpose  and 
untiring  industry,  for  its  success,  than  to  any 
other  man."  At  the  time  he  took  the  work  some 
of  the  churches  had  preaching  twice,  some  once 
a  month;  some  had  a  "meeting  of  days"  once  a 
year.  Some  so-called  churches  were  but  names, 
answering  no  useful  purpose  known  to  God  or 
man.  Perhaps  there  were  only  three  in  the  State 
that  had  constant  pastoral  labor.  The  hour  had 
come  for  an  organizing  mind  that  could  devise 
methods,  direct  large  operations,  and  educe  order 
and  system  out  of  the  reigning  chaos.  In  giving 
counsel  to  the  brethren,  in  looking  up  preachers 
for  churches  and  churches  for  preachers,  in  stim- 
ulating home  enterprise,  in  arranging  meetings, 
his  services  were  valuable.  His  distinctive  work 
was  to  extend  the  district  missionary  organiza- 
tions, and  in  all  ways  to  give  unity,  continuity 
and  universality  to  our  work.  He  had  the 
courage  and  patience  to  labor  for  organization 
needed  for  the  future  as  well  as  for  immediate 
results. 

He  met  with  opposition,  but  he  ably  defended 
his  work.  He  was  a  living  epistle  to  all  Ohio 
disciples.  He  had  the  physical  and  mental  capac- 
ity for  an  immense  amount  of  work.   He  pushed 

276 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


277 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


his  work  with  unyielding  faithfidness,  sometimes 
patiently  plodding,  sometimes  energetically  driv- 
ing, but  always  busy,  always  cheerful.  He 
worked  so  noiselessly  that  he  almost  seemed  to 
be  a  man  of  leisure!  He  seemed  never  to  grow 
discouraged  or  to  lose  hope.  His  longsutfering 
was  the  salvation  of  many  an  enterprise  which 
he  had  in  hand.  Some  one  has  said  that  his  most 
serious  faults  and  troubles  originated  in  his 
goodness. 

During  the  time  of  Bro.  Sloan's  residence  in 
Mt.  Vernon  he  was  intimately  identified  with  the 
educational,  moral  and  religious  interests  of  the 
town.  He  taught  a  boys'  school  and  Mrs.  Sloan 
taught  girls  in  her  own  home.  In  1852  the  male 
academy  disappeared  and  the  Female  Institute 
stands  alone.  Later  the  institute  changed  into 
the  Mt.  Vernon  Female  Seminary.  This  was 
Bro.  Sloan's  greatest  service,  with  the  exception 
of  his  missionary  work.  The  seminary,  as  a 
place  of  Christian  education,  paid  back  many- 
fold  the  capital  put  into  it.  The  wives  and 
daughters  of  many  disciples  in  Ohio  called  the 
school  a  success.  Faithful  work  done  for  our 
fellow-men,  like  love  from  which  it  springs,  is 
never  lost.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive.  Those  who  give,  at  least  get  the  bless- 
ing. "Talk  not  of  wasted  affection,  affection 
never  was  wasted.  If  it  enriches  not  the  heart 
of  another,  its  waters  returning  back  to  their 
springs,  like  the  rain,  shall  fill  them  full  of  re- 
freshment: that  which  the  fountain  sends  forth 
returns  again  to  the  fountain." 

When  Bro.  Sloan  was  called  away  to  meet  the 
heavenlies  he  was  president  of  the  Ohio  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society. 

278 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


ROBEBT  MOFFETT 

Robert  Moffett  was  the  second  great  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Mis- 
sionary Society,  commencing  at  the  close  of  R. 
R.  Sloan's  term  of  office.  His  first  term  of  ser- 
vice began  in  1867  and  continued  to  1884  (fifteen 
years).  The  following  statement  of  his  work,  in 
the  main,  was  made  when  he  voluntarily  gave 
the  work  into  other  hands : 

These  years  have  been  years  of  sacrifice  in 
ways  which  a  preacher  who  wishes  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  times,  and  increase  his  pulpit  abil- 
ity, well  understands.  It  has  been  a  sacrifice  to 
his  family,  who  have  needed  so  much  of  his  pres- 
ence and  counsel.  He  has  served  under  the 
promptings  of  duty  to  the  church  at  large  and 
to  the  cause  of  missions,  which  has  ever  been 
dear  to  his  heart.  His  services  for  the  society 
have  intensified  his  love  for  it.  During  his  ser- 
vice in  Ohio,  work  has  touched  on  every  side  of 
Christian  entei'prise.  Through  all  the  drudgery 
of  clerical  work,  at  his  desk  and  in  the  field; 
through  all  the  responsible  exercises  of  conven- 
tions and  public  assemblies;  through  the  delicate 
and  harassing  investigations  of  church  troubles; 
and  through  the  anxieties  which  drive  sleep  into 
the  wee  hours  of  the  night — through  fifteen  years 
of  such  a  multitude  of  cares  he  has  passed  in 
much  feebleness,  but  he  trusts  with  recognized 
faithfulness.  His  reward  is  in  whatever  good 
may  have  been  accomplished.  Year  by  year  he 
has  put  into  lists  and  tables  the  churches  visited, 
organized  and  fostered,  the  meetings  held,  the 
number  of  converts  gained,  the  amount  of  money 
raised  and  disbursed  as  the  visible  fruitage  of 

279 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  society 's  work.  But  how  many  churches  have 
been  saved  from  wreck;  how  many  new  converts 
became,  in  time,  pillars  in  the  church;  how  many 
Christians  saved  from  ruin;  how  many  hearts 
comforted;  how  many  feeble  knees  strengthened; 
how  many  holy  aspirations  enkindled;  how  many 
little  fountains  opened,  which  have  become,  in 
time,  the  wide  and  beautiful  rivers  of  blessing 
and  peace — these  are  chronicled  only  in  heaven, 
and  will  be  reported  at  the  final  convention  of  all 
the  saints." 

Perhaps  no  person  among  the  disciples  of 
Christ  did  more  for  organized  missionary  work 
than  Robert  Moffett.  He  co-operated  mth  the 
American  Christian  Missionary  Society  and 
helped  fight  its  battles.  He  was  corresponding 
secretary  of  that  society  for  several  years.  He 
sympathized  with  the  Foreign  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society  and  helped  it  to  the  right  of  way  in 
the  Ohio  churches  and  Sunday  schools.  He  was 
a  helping  friend  to  the  Christian  Woman's  Board 
of  Missions,  and  all  the  enterprises  of  the 
churches  of  Christ.  As  an  eloquent  speaker  he 
was  surpassed  by  few,  if  equaled  by  any.  After 
eleven  years'  interim,  he  was  again  elected  sec- 
retary of  the  O.  C.  M.  S.  and  served  four  years. 

HiSTOEiCAL  Table  Showing  the  Place  and  Pbes- 

IDEN'T  op  the  ANNIVEESAillES  OF  THE  OhIO 

Chbistian  Missionaet  Society 

PLACE  president 

1852— Wooster   .D.  S.  Burnet 

1853—  Mt.  Vernon  D.  S.  Burnet 

1854—  Bedford  D.  S.  Burnet 

1855— Akron  D.  S.  Burnet 

280 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


1856—  Mt.  Vernon  J.  P.  Eobison 

1857—  Wooster  J.  P.  Eobison 

1858 —  Massillon  J.  P.  Eobison 

1859—  Wooster  J.  P.  Eobison 

1860—  Belief ontaine  E.  M.  Bishop 

1861—  Mt.  Vernon  E.  M.  Bishop 

1862—  Wooster  E.  M.  Bishop 

1863—  Shelby  E.  M.  Bishop 

1864 —  Bellefontaine  E.  M.  Bishop 

1865—  Ashland  E.  M.  Bishop 

1866—  Akron  E.  M.  Bishop 

1867—  Dayton  E.  M.  Bishop 

1868—  Mt.  Vernon  E.  M.  Bishop 

1869—  Alliance  E.  M.  Bishop 

1870—  Mansfield  Isaac  Errett 

1871 —  Dayton  Isaac  Errett 

1872 —  ^Painesville  Isaac  Errett 

1873 —  Wooster  Isaac  Errett 

187^Toledo  Isaac  Errett 

1875 —  Steubenville  Isaac  Errett 

1876—  Akron  E.  E.  Sloan 

1877—  East  Cleveland  E.  E.  Sloan 

1878—  Mt.  Vernon  E.  E.  Sloan 

1879—  Lima  B.  A.  Hinsdale 

1880—  Warren  B.  A.  Hinsdale 

1881—  Dayton  B.  A.  Hinsdale 

1882—  Columbus.  T.  D.  Garvin 

1883—  Cleveland  L.  E.  Gault 

1884—  Akron  E.  Moffett 

1885—  Wilmington  E.  Moffett 

1886—  New  Lisbon  E.  Moffett 

1887—  Kenton  Wm.  Dowling 

1888—  Columbus  J.  Z.  Tyler 

1889 —  Youngstown  A.  J.  Marvin 

1890—  Dayton  E.  V.  Zollars 

1891—  Ashland  EusseU  Errett 


281 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


MAP  or  OHIO  COUNTIES 
NUMBEB  OF  CHITBCKES  IN  EACH 


282 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


1892—  Bellaire  J.  M.  Van  Horn 

1893—  Canton  C.  J.  Tannar 

1894—  Findlay  G.  P.  Coler 

1895—  Columbus  G.  T.  Smith 

1896—  Toledo  S.  L.  Darsie 

1897—  Hiram  J.  W.  Allen 

1898— Salem  J.  A.  Lord 

1899—  Wilmington  H.  McDiarmid 

1900—  Mansfield  B.  L.  Smith 

1901—  Akron  C.  W.  Huffer 

1902 —  Columbus  Justin  N.  Green 

1903—  Lima  J.  G.  Slayter 

1904—  Cleveland  M.  L.  Bates 

1905—  Newark  A.  M.  Harvuot 

1906—  Uhrichsville  A.  R.  Webber 

1907—  Dayton  H.  Newton  Miller 

1908—  Columbus  J.  E.  Lynn 

1909—  Elyria  T.  W,  Pinkerton 

1910—  Toledo  L  J.  Cahill 

1911 —  Portsmouth  Geo.  Darsie 

1912—  Canton  John  P.  Sala 

1913—  Lima  W.  F.  Rothenburger 

1914 —  Bowling  Green  P.  H.  Welshimer 

1915—  Nelsonville  W.  D.  Ward 

1916—  Mt.  Vernon  T.  L.  Lowe 

1917—  Bellefontaine  C.  B.  Reynolds 

LIST  OF  CHURCHES  BY  COTJNTLES 

Adams  County. — Bethlehem,  May  Hill, 
Moore's  Chapel,  Newport,  Peebles. 

Allen  County. — Auglaize  Chapel,  Beaver 
Dam,  Bluffton,  Garfield  Chapel,  Garfield  Memo- 
rial, Lima  (South),  Lima  (Central),  Rousculp. 

Ashland  County. — Ashland,  Clear  Creek, 
Jeromesville,  Nankin,  Loudonville,  Polk,  Sulli- 
van. 

283 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Ashtabula  County. — Ashtabula,  Greneva,  East 
Trumbull,  Hartsgrove,  Orwell,  Penn  Line,  Rock 
Creek,  Trumbull,  Trumbull  Center. 

Athens  County. — Athens,  Beech  Grove, 
Chauncey,  Glouster,  Green's  Run,  Hooper's 
Ridge,  Jerseyville,  Luhrig,  New  Marshfield,  Mill- 
field,  Nelsonville,  Taylor's  Ridge,  Trimble. 

Auglaize  County. — St.  Mary's,  UniopoHs. 

Belmont  County. — Barnesville,  Bellaire,  Bel- 
mont, Belmont  Ridge,  Bend  Fork,  Bethesda,  Bos- 
ton, Captina,  Centerville,  Chestnut  Level,  Dover, 
East  Richland,  Paynes  Corners,  Egypt,  Flushing, 
Glencoe,  Grand  View,  Hendrysburg,  Hunter, 
Martins  Ferry,  Morristown,  Rehoboth,  Somerton, 
Shadyside,  Washington,  Uniontown,  St.  Joe. 

Brown  County. — Georgetown,  Hamersville, 
Liberty  Chapel,  Macon,  Mt.  Grab,  Ripley,  Sar- 
dinia, Russellville. 

Butler  County. — Hamilton  (First),  Hamilton 
( Lindenwald ) ,  Macedonia. 

Carroll  County. — Augusta,  Berea,  Malvern, 
Mt.  Olivet,  New  Harrisburg. 

Clark  Coumty. — Springfield,  Springfield  (Col- 
ored). 

Clermont  County. — Bethel,  Chilo,  Felicity, 
Lerado,  Monterey,  Modest,  Mulberry,  Moscow, 
New  Richmond,  Rural,  Withamsville. 

Clinton  County. — Blanchester,  Macedonia, 
Martinsville,  New  Antioch,  New  Vienna,  Sabina, 
Wilmington  (First),  Wilmington  (Walnut  St). 

Columbiana  County. — Columbiana,  East  Fair- 
field, East  Liverpool  (First),  East  Liverpool 
(Second),  East  Palestine,  Hanoverton,  Kensing- 
ton, Lisbon,  New  Alexander,  New  Garden, 
Rogers,  St.  Clair,  Salem,  Salineville,  Wellsville 
(First). 

284 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Coshocton  Cotmty. — Coshocton,  Spring  Moun- 
tain, Tiverton,  Walhonding. 

Crawford  County. — Bncyrus,  Galion. 

Cuyahoga  County. — Bedford,  Chagrin  Falls; 
Cleveland:  Broadway,  Crawford  Road,  Dunham 
Avenue,  Euclid  Avenue,  Franklin  Circle,  Glen- 
ville,  Highland  Avenue,  West  Boulevard,  Miles 
Avenue,  Collinwood,  Lakewood;  North  Eoyalton, 
Solon,  Glen  Willow. 

Darhe  County. — Burkettsville,  Carnahan, 
Greenville,  Palestine,  Yorkshire. 

Defiance  County. — Farmer  Center,  Hicksville, 
Sherwood,  West  Milford. 

Delaware  County. — Center  Village. 

Erie  County. — Sandusky. 

Fairfield  County. — Lancaster,  Violet  Chapel. 

Fayette  County. — Pleasant  View,  Washing- 
ton C.  H. 

Franklin  County. — Columbus:  Broad  Street, 
West  Fourth  Avenue,  Chicago  Avenue,  Wilson 
Avenue,  South,  Linden  Heights,  East,  Hill  Top, 
Indianola. 

Fulton  County. — Delta,  East  Chesterfield, 
Fayette,  Franklin,  Inlet,  Lyons,  Tedrow,  Wau- 
seoii,  Winameg. 

Geauga  County. — Auburn,  Chardon,  Chester- 
land,  Fowlers  Mills,  Montville,  Thompson. 

Green  County. — Bowersville,  Grape  Grove, 
Ferry,  Gladstone,  Jamestown,  Xenia, 

Guernsey  County. — Bates  Hill,  Byesville, 
Cambridge,  Creighton,  Harmony,  Quaker  City. 

Hamilton  County. — Carthage;  Cincinnati: 
Central,  Eastern,  Camp  Washington,  Fairmount 
Central,  Evanston,  Columbia,  Richmond,  North 
Side,  Walnut  Hills;  Harrison,  Madisonville, 
Miami,  Mt.  Healthy,  Norwood,  White  Oak;  Cin- 

285 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


cinnati  (Colored)  :  College  Hill,  Clark  Street, 
Walnut  Hills,  Lockland,  Kenyon  Avenue,  Oxford. 

Hancock  County. — Bethel,  Findlay  (First), 
Findlay  (Second),  McComb. 

Hardin  County. — Ada,  Blanchard  River,  Dun- 
kirk, Mt.  Victory,  Kenton,  McGuffey,  Reeds, 
Ridgeway. 

Harrison  County. — Hopedale,  Tippecanoe, 
Nottingham,  Tappan. 

Henry  County. — Malinta. 

Highland  County. — Buford,  Danville,  Fair- 
view,  Greenfield,  Hillsboro,  Lynchburg,  Mt. 
Olive,  Mt.  Zion,  Mt.  Washington,  Mowrystown, 
Pricetown,  Sugartree  Ridge,  South  Liberty, 
Union. 

Holmes  County. — Glenmont,  Holmesville, 
Killbuck,  Millersburg,  Nashville,  Ripley,  Union 
Grove,  Welcome. 

Hocking  County. — Carbon  Hill. 

Huron  County. — Greenwich,  North  Fairfield, 
Norwalk,  Boughtonville. 

Jackson  Comity. — Byer,  Four  Mile,  Jackson, 
Ray. 

Jefferson  County. — Bergholz,  Brilliant,  Ham- 
mondsville,  Irondale,  New  Somerset,  Phillips, 
Plum  Run,  Smithfield,  Steubenville  (First),  Steu- 
benville  (Second),  Toronto,  Unionport. 

Knox  County. — Bell,  Bladensburg,  Center- 
burg,  Danville,  Dennis,  Howard,  Grove,  Martins- 
burg,  Messiah,  Millwood,  Milwood  (First),  Mt. 
Vernon,  Palmyra,  Waterford,  Brink  Haven. 

Lake  County. — Mentor,  Mentor  Plains,  Paines- 
ville.  Perry,  Willoughby. 

Lawrence  County. — Athalia,  Bend  Fork,  Iron- 
ton,  Jep,  Chesapeake. 

286 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Licking  County. — Croton,  Eden,  Fallsbtirg, 
Hebron;  Newark,  North  Side,  West  Side;  Perry- 
ton,  Rocky  Fork,  Utica,  York  Street. 

Logan  County. — Belle  Center,  Belief ontaine, 
Big  Springs,  East  Liberty,  Middleburg,  Rush- 
sylvania.  Rush  Creek,  West  Mansfield. 

Lorain  County. — Elyria,  Fields,  Kipton,  La 
Porte,  Lorain,  North  Eaton,  Wellington. 

Lucas  County.- — -Toledo:  Central,  Norwood, 
East,  South;  White  House. 

Mahoning  County. — Austintown,  Canfield, 
Greenford,  North  Jackson,  Lowellville,  Sebring; 
Youngstown:  Central,  First,  Hillman  Street. 

Marion  County. — Kirkpatrick,  Martel,  Marion 
(First),  Marlon,  Caledonia. 

Medina  County. — Brunswick,  East  Granger, 
Hinckley,  Medina,  Wadsworth,  Remsen  Corners. 

Meigs  County. — -Adams  Mills,  Bear  Wallow, 
Bedford  (First),  Bedford  (Second),  Bradford, 
Danville,  Dexter,  Midway,  Long  Bottom,  Middle- 
port,  Orange,  Reedsville,  Rockville,  Tuppers 
Plains,  Zion,  Rutland. 

Miami  County. — Fidelity,  Piqua. 

Mercer  County. — Ft.  Recovery,  Montezuma. 

Morgan  County. — Antioch,  Bishopville,  Dea- 
vertown.  East  Branch,  Fairview,  Malta,  McCon- 
nelsville,  Meigs,  Mountville,  Pennsville,  Stock- 
port, Triadelphia,  Tabor,  Wolf  Creek. 

Monroe  County. — Antioch,  Beallsville,  Calais, 
Cameron,  Clarington,  Fair  Pleasant,  Garysville, 
Goudy,  Jackson  Ridge,  Malaga,  Rich  Fork, 
Salem,  Stafford,  Woodsfield. 

Montgomery  County. — Dayton:  Central,  West 
Side,  Santa  Clara,  East. 

Morrow  County. — Pleasant  Grove,  Perry. 

19  287 


A  mSTORY  OF  THE 


Mushingum  Comity. — Frazeysburg,  Roseville, 
Zanesville. 

Nolle  County. — Caldwell,  High  Hill,  Mt. 
Epliraim,  Olive  Green,  Palestine,  Point  Pleasant, 
Salt  Eun,  Siunmerfield. 

Ottawa  County. — Elmore,  Genoa,  Oak  Har- 
bor. 

Paulding  County. — Bronghton,  Grover  Hill, 
Melrose,  Payne,  Paulding. 

Perry  County. — Coming,  Crooksville,  Hem- 
lock, Mt.  Perry,  New  Lexington,  New  Straits- 
ville,  Shawnee. 

Pickaway  County. — Derby,  New  Holland. 

Pike  County. — ^Victor. 

Portage  County. — Aurora,  Deerfield,  Diamond, 
Edinburg,  Garrettsville,  Hiram,  Kent,  Mantua 
Station,  Mantua  Center,  Randolph,  Eavenna, 
Shalersville,  Souls  Comers. 

Preble  County. — Campbellstown,  Eaton,  New 
Paris. 

Putnam  County. — ^Forest  Grove,  Leipsic,  Pan- 
dora, Pleasant  Grove,  West  Belmore. 

Richland  County. — Adario,  Bellville,  Bethany 
Chapel,  Caesarea,  Lexington,  Lucas,  Mansfield, 
Shenandoah,  Shelby. 

Ross  County. — Chillicothe,  Sugar  Eun. 

Sandusky  County. — Clyde,  Gibsonburg,  San- 
dusky. 

Scioto  County. — New  Boston,  Portsmouth 
(First),  Portsmouth  (Grandview),  Sciotoville. 

Seneca  County. — Fostoria,  Tiffin. 

Shelby  Co ww^z/.— Jackson  Center,  Port  Jeffer- 
son, Sidney. 

Stark  County. — Alliance,  Canton,  Lidian  Eun, 
Marlboro,  Massillon,  Minerva,  New  Baltimore, 
New  Berlin,  Sparta,  Union  Hill. 

288 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Summit  Comity. — Akron:  High,  East  Market, 
North  Hill,  South,  Wabash  Avenue ;  Barberton, 
Clinton,  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Everett,  Inland,  Man- 
chester, Mogadore,  Steeles  Comers,  Ghent,  Stow, 
West  Richfield. 

Trumbull  County. — Braceville,  Brookfield, 
Champion,  Cortland,  East  Farmington,  Fowler, 
Girard,  Greensburg^  Hartford,  Howland,  Hub- 
bard, Hubbard  (North),  Lordstown,  Mecca,  Min- 
eral Ridge,  Newton  Falls,  Niles,  North  Bloom- 
field,  North  Bristol,  Southington,  West  Bazetta, 
Warren  (Central),  Warren  (Second). 

Tuscarawas  County. — Dundee,  New  Philadel- 
phia, Uhrichsville,  Dennison. 

Union  County. — Mill  Creek,  Richwood,  Union, 

Van  Wert  County. — Van  Wert. 

Vinton  County. — Allenville,  Air  Line,  Bethel, 
Eagle  Chapel,  McArthur,  Radcliff,  Union. 

Warren  County. — Lebanon,  Waynesville. 

Washington  County. — Beverly,  Coal  Run,  Dal- 
zell,  Fairfield,  Lowell,  Marietta,  Mile  Run,  Reno, 
Fullerton  (Union  Chapel),  Warner,  West  Mari- 
etta, Winget  Run. 

Wayne  County. — Blachleyville,  Fredericks- 
burg, Orrville,  Shreve,  Wooster. 

Williams  County.-— Bryan,  Edgerton,  Edon, 
Lick  Creek,  Montpelier,  West  Unity. 

Wood  County. — Bowling  Green,  Cygnet,  Cus- 
tar,  Eagleville,  Jerry  City,  Milton  Center,  Mun- 
gen.  North  Baltimore,  Prairie  Depot,  Rudolph, 
Weston,  North  Weston,  West  Belmore. 


289 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Hugh  Wayt  E.  A.  Wray  F.  L.  Bustor 


George  F.  Crites  T.  Alfred  Fleming  C.  A.  Freer 


O.  G.  Hertzog  S.  E.  Brewster  Homer  T.  Messick 

OHIO  BESTOEATION  WOEKEBS 


290 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXXI 

SUNDAY  SCHOOLS  IN  OHIO 

"^HE  Sunday  school  is  only  modern  in  form. 

The  principle  is  recognized  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  record  in  Deuteronomy  (chap.  6)  says: 
''These  words  which  I  command  thee  this  day 
shall  be  in  thine  heart,  and  thou  shalt  teach  them 
diligently  unto  thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of 
them  when  thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  ajid  when 
thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest 
down,  and  when  thou  risest  up."  During  the 
first  centuries  of  the  church,  catechetical  schools 
were  instituted  for  the  young.  Luther  and  Knox 
and  Wesley,  and  all  the  reformers,  called  atten- 
tion to  educating  the  children. 

Ludwig  Hecker,  in  Pennsylvania,  fifty  years 
before  the  time  of  Robert  Raikes,  started  some 
Sunday  schools.  The  modern  school,  however, 
grew  out  of  the  efforts  of  Raikes  to  teach  the 
young  how  to  read,  that  they  might  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  Scriptures.  At  first  they  had 
paid  teachers  for  instructing  poor  children;  then 
volunteer  teachers ;  then  other  than  poor  children 
joined  in  the  work;  then  older  persons  became 
interested,  and  now  the  school  is  the  church  at 
work  systematically  studying  and  teaching  the 
Scriptures. 

291 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Jesns  says,  ''Teach  all  nations,"  and,  as  chil- 
dren are  a  part  of  the  nations,  it  is  the  best 
time  to  teach  them  when  they  are  yonng  and  in 
the  formative  period.  "As  the  twig  is  bent,  the 
tree  is  inclined."  History  shows  that  the  major- 
ity of  people  come  to  Christ  in  their  young  years. 
The  disciples  of  Christ  in  Ohio  name  New  Lis- 
bon, Columbiana  County,  as  the  second  church 
listed  in  their  world-wide  movement  for  the 
restoration  of  the  New  Testament  Christianity. 
That  church  was  enrolled  in  1827  by  Walter 
Scott.  Soon  the  churches  began  to  multiply.  At 
first  they  did  not  take  kindly  to  Sunday  schools. 
At  that  time  the  schools  were  used  by  the  sects 
in  teaching  their  peculiar  tenets,  and  the  dis- 
ciples were  prejudiced  against  them.  The  new 
churches  had  to  maintain  their  own  existence, 
and  their  Lord's  Day  meetings  partly  took  on 
the  form  of  Scripture  teaching,  and  special 
schools  for  the  young  had  to  come  in  later  in 
their  history.  In  that  early  period,  old  and  young 
disciples  each  carried  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures 
and  studied  the  word  of  God. 

The  pioneer  Lathrop  Cooley  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  the  school  now  known  as  the 
Bible  school  of  the  Franklin  Circle  Church  of 
Christ  of  Cleveland  was  the  first  school  among 
the  disciples  in  Ohio.  It  was  started  soon  after 
1844.  Some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Eestoration 
movement  called  a  convention  to  meet  at  Brace- 
ville,  Trumbull  County,  in  1846,  to  consider  the  ad- 
visability of  starting  schools  in  all  the  churches. 
The  convention  was  well  attended  and  decided  to 
encourage  the  churches  to  start  schools.  As  there 
was  much  criticism  on  the  literature  circulated 
in  the  denominational  schools  of  that  day,  the 

292 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


convention  recommended  the  preparation  of  suit- 
able library  books  for  the  proposed  Sunday 
schools.  D.  S.  Burnet  was  selected  to  write  and 
edit  books  for  an  appropriate  library.  In  har- 
mony with  this  arrangement,  in  1856  a  library  of 
fifty  volumes  was  published,  and  known  as  the 
Burnet  Library.  The  preface  of  the  first  volume 
of  the  library  has  this  statement:  ''This  book  is 
the  first  of  a  series  we  design  preparing  for  a 
Sunday-school  library.  We  have  looked  over  the 
various  libraries  extant  with  much  care  and  in- 
terest, and  the  result  of  our  research  is  a  solemn 
conviction  that  out  of  the  multitude  of  books  that 
have  been  prepared  for  Sunday  schools,  there  is 
perhaps  not  one  that  a  Christian  parent  can  put 
into  the  hands  of  a  child  with  approbation." 
The  Burnet  Library  was  adopted  and  used  by 
many  of  the  schools  that  maintained  libraries  in 
that  early  day.  The  books  are  a  great  im- 
provement over  the  goody-goody  books  on  the 
life  and  death  of  some  boy  or  girl  of  saintly  at- 
tainments, that  circulated  in  sectarian  schools. 
The  Burnet  books  treat  of  Bible  characters  and 
the  child-life  of  Jesus,  the  boyhood  of  King 
David,  Americans  in  Jerusalem  (or  the  Barclay 
Mission),  plants  and  trees  of  Scripture,  the 
goodness  of  God,  searching  the  Scriptures,  and 
subjects  that  ennoble  character,  all  adapted  to 
interest  the  young  in  history,  science  and  Scrip- 
ture subjects. 

The  churches,  however,  did  not  all  proceed  to 
start  Sunday  schools,  or,  as  we  now  call  them, 
''Bible  schools."  The  young  people  sometimes 
started  and  maintained  schools.  Often  this  was 
done  independent  of  the  older  members  and 
officers  of  the  church.    For  years  the  schools 

293 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


went  on  without  any  special  relation  to  the 
churches.  The  churches  made  no  provision  for 
them  in  officers  or  teachers,  or  special  places  for 
meetings,  or  equipments.  Gradually  the  schools 
worked  their  way  into  the  graces  of  the  churches, 
and  they  not  only  tolerated  them,  but  gave  them 
encouragement.  They  allowed  the  houses  to  be 
divided  by  curtains  to  aid  in  school  management. 
Then  they  began  to  build,  taking  the  interests  of 
the  school  into  consideration,  till  finally  some  of 
the  meeting-houses  have  four,  ten,  or  even 
twenty,  rooms  for  classes  and  departments  of  the 
school. 

In  1852  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Soci- 
ety was  formed.  It  was  made  up  of  volunteer 
disciples  of  Christ.  Their  purpose  was  to  co- 
operate with  one  another  to  enlarge  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  They  did  not  propose  to  lord  it  over 
the  churches,  but  to  lead  them  into  larger  co- 
operative missionary  work  in  the  State. 

In  1862,  the  churches  having  been  somewhat 
united  in  mission  work,  in  planting  new  churches 
and  strengthening  the  weak  ones,  in  the  annual 
convention  at  Wooster  attention  was  called  to 
Sunday  schools  as  a  means  of  propagating  the 
gospel.  The  Committee  on  Order  of  Business 
reported  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  the  church  having  a  well- 
regnlated  and  efficient  Sunday  school  is  furnished 
with  the  means  of  perpetuating  the  gospel," 

The  record  of  the  convention  says:  "Perti- 
nent and  impressive  remarks  were  made  by  Hurl- 
but,  Burnet,  Begg,  Errett,  Henry,  Wm.  Hayden, 
Brown,  Way,  France  and  others."  The  record 
then  declares  that  ''the  discussion  of  this  highly 
important  subject  can  not  be  recorded,  as  would 

294 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


be  well,  for  a  wider  benefit.  Nothing  could  be 
more  instructive  and  edifying  or  more  in  season, 
in  prompting  and  guiding  the  energies  of  all  the 
members  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  their  mis- 
sionary character.  In  the  midst  of  this  profitable 
investigation  Bro.  Burnet  moved  that  the  subject 
of  this  resolution  be  referred  to  a  select  com- 
mittee of  three  brethren,  with  instruction  to  re- 
port as  early  as  possible  in  this  meeting.  The 
Chair  appointed  D.  S.  Burnet,  J.  M.  Henry  and 
A.  S.  Hayden." 

The  next  day  D.  S.  Burnet  presented  the  fol- 
lowing report,  which  was  adopted: 

''Your  committee  to  whom  you  have  been 
pleased  to  commit  the  resolution  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Order  of  Business  on  the  subject  of 
Sunday  schools  beg  to  report  as  a  substitute  the 
following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  the  marked  success  awarded 
to  our  Sunday  schools  encourages  us  to  foster 
this  agency  for  recruiting  the  churches  of  Christ 
with  intelligent  and  disciplined  young  Christians, 
and  that  we  earnestly  commend  the  establishment 
of  such  schools  in  every  available  neighborhood 
as  a  valuable  means  of  benefiting  both  the  church 
and  the  world." 

In  1863  there  were  about  twenty-five  thousand 
members  in  the  church  of  Christ  in  Ohio.  No 
statistics  are  given  as  to  Sunday  schools.  At 
that  time  the  Bedford  Church  was  one  of  the 
largest  and  strongest  churches  in  the  State. 
The  Sunday  school  of  that  church  was  the  first 
to  make  systematic  offerings  for  missionary- 
work.  R.  R.  Sloan,  secretary  of  the  Ohio  Chris- 
tion  Missionary  Society,  in  reporting  the  Bed- 
ford school,  says:  "Blank  notes  are  furnished, 

295 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


which  the  pnpils  fill  in  and  sig:n  at  option,  oblig- 
ing them  to  pay  small  sums  monthly  for  mis- 
sionary uses.  This  is  well.  It  inculcates  a  mis- 
sionary spirit.  It  inures  to  system,  and  trains 
the  chUd  to  give  ere  habits  of  penury  have  steeled 
his  soul." 

The  Bedford  school  offering  that  year  was 
$7.50.  The  school  at  Collamer  gave  $3.00,  and 
the  school  at  Eighth  and  Walnut,  Cincinnati, 
gave  $10.00  to  make  Elder  R.  Graham  a  life 
member  of  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  The  Cincinnati  school 
at  that  time  was  the  largest  in  the  State.  The 
next  year  fourteen  schools  made  offerings  for 
Ohio  missions. 

In  1865  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Soci- 
ety authorized  the  employing  of  a  Sunday-school 
evangelist.  The  Board  of  Managers  made  per- 
sistent effort  to  employ  one,  without  success. 
The  managers  in  the  convention  of  1866  mention 
the  difficulties  in  the  appointment  of  such  an 
agent.  "His  labors  would  be  first  and  chiefly 
devoted  to  the  organization  of  new  schools.  They 
could  not  compensate  his  labors.  The  very  work, 
if  successful,  would,  in  an  outlay  for  library  and 
necessary  expenses,  impose  upon  them  all  the 
burden  they  could  bear.  This  would  be  true  of 
schools  already  organized."  R.  M.  Bishop,  the 
president  of  the  society  offered  to  make  up  every 
deficiency  in  the  evangelist's  salary.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  the  entire  burden  would  fall  upon  him, 
and  the  managers  were  not  willing  thus  to  tax 
his  generosity.  The  society  authorized  President 
Bishop  to  furnish  or  procure  a  tract  upon  the 
proper  organization  and  management  of  the  Sun- 
day school,  for  general  distribution  among  the 
churches  of  Ohio,    The  corresponding  secretary 

296 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


of  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  was  autliorized  to  collect  the 
statistics  of  the  schools  and  also  to  raise  means 
to  employ  a  Sunday-school  evangelist.  That  year 
only  sixty  schools  reported,  and  they  had  only 
3,150  pupils  in  regular  attendance.  These  schools 
were  usually  suspended  during  the  winter.  After 
that  period  the  schools  gradually  became  "ever- 
green" or  all-the-year  schools. 

Before  tracing  the  history  of  the  Ohio  schools 
further  it  may  be  well  to  state  something  of  the 
character  of  the  early  schools.  The  buildings- 
consisting  of  one  room — were  poorly  fitted  for 
grading  the  schools.  The  pupils,  if  classified  at 
all,  were  arranged  by  age  or  mutual  friendships 
rather  than  by  attainments.  Some  teachers  of 
natural  ability  kept  their  classes  well  filled. 
Many  teachers  were  irregular  in  attendance,  and 
this  led  to  irregular  attendance  of  scholars.  The 
singing  was  by  rote,  following  a  leader.  Instru- 
mental music  was  gradually  introduced  to  aid 
the  singing,  and  in  this  way  instruments  were 
ultimately  used  in  the  church  worship.  Uniform 
lessons  were  not  used,  but  scholars  recited  or 
read  the  Scriptures.  Sometimes  a  bright  pupil 
would  take  nearly  all  the  time  in  reciting  150 
verses,  and  the  other  scholars  were  neglected. 
No  teachers'  meetings  were  held,  and  no  general 
reviews,  and  no  maps  or  blackboard  or  other 
helps  were  used. 

Sometimes  talking  men  happened  along  and 
would  be  asked  to  say  something,  and  a  case  is 
mentioned  where  such  a  talker  came  before  the 
school  and  said:  ''Children,  what  shall  I  say 
to  you?"  Of  course  the  children  knew  that  such 
a  man  had  nothing  of  importance  to  offer,  and  a 
little  girl  raised  her  hand  and  said.  "Thay 

297 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


amen  and  thit  down."  On  another  occasion  the 
superintendent  asked  the  school  what  the  talker 
said  last  Sunday.  A  girl  rose  and,  folding  her 
hands  right  and  left,  declared:  "He  talked  and 
he  talked,  but  didn't  say  much  of  anything."  In 
another  instance  a  burly,  big-voiced  man  gruffly 
asked  the  little  ones,  "Who  made  the  world!" 
No  response  came ;  again  in  a  louder  and  harsher 
manner  he  emphasized  the  question,  "I  say,  chil- 
dren, who  made  the  world?"  A  little  boy,  fear- 
fully frightened,  said:  "I  did,  but  I  will  never 
do  it  again." 

The  day  of  crude  methods  has  passed  away. 
Soon  there  came  a  crisis  and  new  era  to  the  Bible 
school  in  Ohio.  Another  chapter  will  set  forth 
the  progressive  nature  of  the  new  era. 


298 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXXII 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  CRISIS 

A  CEISIS  in  the  Simday  school  in  Ohio  came 
in  1868.  Schools  had  been  multiplying. 
Prejudice  against  evangelizing  the  young  had 
subsided.  R.  M.  Bishop,  D.  S.  Burnet,  A.  S. 
Hayden  and  others  had  championed  the  plea  in 
behalf  of  instructing  the  young.  At  Mt.  Vernon 
was  the  first  anniversary  of  the  Ohio  Christian 
Sunday  School  Association.  The  second  article 
of  the  constitution  read  as  follows: 

"The  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  to 
enlist  the  entire  Christian  brotherhood  of  the 
State  in  earnest  effort  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Sunday  schools;  and  for  tMs  purpose,  to  secure^ 
as  far  as  possible,  the  formation  of  auxiliary 
associations  throughout  the  State,  to  co-operate 
with  the  Association  in  this  great  work."  Of- 
ficers and  a  board  of  managers  were  chosen.  L. 
L.  Carpenter  was  elected  president,  and  H.  Ger- 
ould,  secretary.  R.  Moffett,  Isaac  Errett,  F.  E. 
UdaU,  E..  M.  Bishop,  J.  F.  Wright  and  others 
took  part  in  this  Association,  as  managers.  The 
Association  organized  auxiliary  societies  in  the 
auxiliary  districts  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  missionary  districts  had  been 
organized  under  the  laborious  work  of  Secretary 
E.  E.  Sloan;  effort  had  been  made  to  attach  the 
Sunday-school  work  to  the  operation  of  the  Mis- 

299 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


sionary  Society.  In  1869  Robert  Moffett  was 
elected  corresponding  secretary  of  the  0.  C.  M. 
S.  The  missionary  districts  had  been  formed, 
and  as  the  Sunday  School  Association  adapted 
their  work  to  these  divisions  of  the  State,  in 
time  it  was  considered  wise  and  practicable  to 
merge  the  two  associations  into  one  large  move- 
ment. 

So  in  1874,  after  six  years  of  successful  super- 
vision of  the  school  work,  it  was  merged  into  the 
Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society.  During  these 
six  years  much  progress  was  made  in  the  number 
and  efficiency  of  the  schools.  F.  M.  Green  had 
increased.  Conventions  were  held  to  magnify 
prepared  a  book  on  school  management.  Teach- 
ers' meetings  were  multiplied.  School  supplies 
and  improve  the  schools.  After  this  union  of  the 
two  societies  a  missionary  convention  was  held 
annually,  and  a  semi-annual  convention  in  each 
district  was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Sun- 
day school. 

During  the  six  years  of  the  Sunday  School 
Association  the  schools  began  to  co-operate  with 
the  general  Sunday  School  Association  in  Ohio, 
which  co-operated  with  a  national  association. 
The  last  report  of  the  Sunday-school  Board  of 
Managers  says: 

"We  have  learned  that  we  ought  to  take  hold 
of  hands  in  this  great  business  of  God.  We 
have  learned  that  the  Sunday  school  is  for  all, 
and  not  simply  for  little  children.  We  have 
learned  that  the  true  Sunday-school  idea  con- 
flicts with  no  good  thing;  that  it  does  not  lessen 
in  the  slightest  degree  parental  responsibility, 
and,  as  far  as  the  church  is  concerned,  it  is  not, 
neither  can  it  be,  across  the  path  of  its  true 

300 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


progress.  If  we  do  find,  at  times,  the  school  and 
the  church  exhibiting  the  characteristics  of 
rivals,  may  we  not  find  the  explanation  in  this 
sentence:  'The  church  neglected  to  do  its  duty 
and  has  forced  individual  men  and  women  to  a 
life  of  inactivity  or  else  to  an  independent 
action'?  Where  the  church  does  its  whole  duty 
in  the  premises,  there  never  can  be  a  conflict 
between  them,  for  the  whole  church  will  be  in  the 
Bible  school  and  therefore  will  not  contest  its  own 
work. ' ' 

It  also  stated  that  "the  field  is  the  widest, 
whitest,  noblest  and  most  remunerative  field  ever 
opened,  in  the  providence  of  God,  for  sanctified 
Christian  effort.  When  this  is  realized,  the 
slowness  of  the  snail  will  give  way  to  the  swift- 
ness of  the  eagle,  and  the  weakness  of  the  worm 
to  the  lion's  strength." 

At  that  time  (1872)  there  were  in  our  215 
Ohio  Sunday  schools  reporting  17,680  pupils;  in 
the  libraries,  10,601  volimies,  and  the  annual  cost 
of  the  schools  was  $7,296.  They  gave  for  mis- 
sionary purposes  $243.  There  were  estimated 
to  be  125  schools  that  made  no  report.  In  1882 
the  schools  gave  $600  for  Foreign  Missions.  In- 
creased attention  was  given  to  the  Sunday-school 
work  in  the  District  and  State  Conventions. 

In  1879  an  interstate  Sunday-school  conven- 
tion with  Indiana  was  held  at  Lima,  O.  L.  L. 
Carpenter,  having  moved  to  Indiana,  was  presi- 
dent pro  tern,  for  Indiana.  Before  this  time  (in 
1877)  a  similar  convention  had  been  held  in 
Union  City,  Ind. 

In  1884,  Ohio  Sunday  schools  contributed  to 
the  Foreign  Society  $6,014.  At  that  time  there 
were  28,924  pupils  and  teachers  in  the  schools. 

301 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


During  the  next  ten  years,  np  to  1894,  under  the 
direction  of  Alanson  Wilcox,  as  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, the  schools  increased  to  49,652  scholars  and 
6,043  teachers  and  officers,  or  a  total  of  55,695, 
an  increase  of  ninety-two  per  cent,  in  ten  years. 

In  1872  the  International  Uniform  Sunday- 
school  Lessons  were  introduced.  This  was  a 
great  advance  on  the  haphazard  lesson  then  used 
in  the  schools.  They  were  gradually  introduced 
into  our  Ohio  schools.  On  the  general  committee 
to  arrange  the  International  course  of  study  was 
Isaac  Errett,  till  his  death.  And  then  B.  B.  Tyler 
served  for  many  years.  The  course  was  so  ar- 
ranged that  in  seven  years  a  mountain-top  series 
of  lessons  would  go  through  the  Bible.  The 
schools  have  gone  through  seven  of  these  series 
of  lessons.  The  Standard  Publishing  Company 
prepared  lesson  helps  in  leaflets,  quarterlies  and 
annuals  unexcelled  by  any  publishing-house.  This 
company  also  published  a  variety  of  papers 
adapted  to  old  and  young,  and  this  class  of  liter- 
ature has  superseded  the  old  system  of  libraries. 
This  company  took  advanced  positions  on 
teacher-training  and  graded  schools.  It  prepared 
and  sent  out  literature  and  specially  qualified  lec- 
turers on  Sunday-school  work.  This  company 
called  and  helped  school  Herbert  Moninger  for 
the  greatest  work  any  one  man  has  done  for 
Teacher  Training  and  Bible  Study.  He  went 
away  at  the  zenith  of  his  usefulness,  in  1911, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years. 

Under  wise  management,  and  the  publicity 
given  the  schools,  they  increased  in  numbers  and 
efficiency.  Up  to  1911  the  schools  increased  to 
nearly  six  hundred  and  a  number  of  schools  have 

302 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OfflO 


over  five  hundred  in  attendance  each  Lord's  Day. 
The  Canton  school  enrolls  three  thousand,  and  is 
unexcelled  in  this  country.  In  Canton,  by  the 
co-operation  of  The  Standard  Publishing  Com- 
pany, a  School  of  Methods  has  been  introduced 
which  bids  fair  to  be  far-reaching  in  usefulness. 
The  Nelsonville  school  has  received  a  compli- 
mentary letter  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  has  been  visited  by  the  Governor  of 
Ohio.  So  the  Ohio  schools  are  leading  in  repu- 
tation and  influence. 

The  schools  give  annually  thousands  of  dol- 
lars to  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society, 
to  Home  Missions  and  benevolences.  Many  of 
the  schools  are  graded  and  maintain  Cradle  Roll 
and  Home  Class  Departments.  It  is  well  for  the 
present  and  future  generations  to  know  about  the 
aims  of  the  schools  in  1911. 

Feont  Rank  Standaed  foe  1911 

1.  Graded.  Six  departments,  with  a  superin- 
tendent of  each:  Cradle  Roll,  Primary,  Junior, 
Intermediate,  Adult,  Home.  A  superintendent  or 
secretary  of  classification.  An  annual  promotion 
day.  Supplemental  or  graded  lessons  in  the 
Primary,  Junior  and  Intennediate  departments. 

2.  Teacher  Training.  A  class  studying  either 
the  first  or  advanced  course. 

3.  Organized  Classes.  The  International  Cer- 
tificate of  Recognition  for  all  classes  whose  mem- 
bers are  over  sixteen  years  of  age. 

4.  Bibles.  At  least  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  en- 
rollment owning  Bibles  or  New  Testaments.  At 
least  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  average  attendance 
using  the  Bible  or  New  Testament  in  the  school. 

5.  Workers'  Conference.    A  regular  workers' 

20  303 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


conference  of  the  oflficers  and  teachers,  meeting 
either  weekly  or  monthly. 

6.  Missions.  A  Missionary  Committee,  or 
secretary  of  missions,  promoting  missionary  edu- 
cation and  the  nse  of  missionary  prayer  topics. 
Offering  from  the  school  to  our  State  Bible-school 
work,  the  American  Christian  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, Foreign  Missions  and  benevolences. 

This  program  is  a  scientific  and  marvelous 
advance  on  the  crude  schools  of  olden  times. 
Many  of  the  schools  are  not  up  to  these  high 
ideals  in  their  organization  and  management  and 
attainments.  If  one  shoots  at  the  sun,  his  arrow 
will  go  higher  than  when  he  only  aims  at  a  sun- 
flower. The  schools  are  marching  on  to  greater 
efiSciencv.  Under  the  management  in  late  years 
of  S.  H.  Bartlett,  H.  Newton  Miller  and  I.  J. 
Cahill  as  secretaries  of  the  0.  C.  M.  S. ;  the  evan- 
gelist, L.  I.  Mercer,  and  L.  L.  Faris,  M.  C.  Settle 
and  Wilford  H.  McLain  as  State  superintendents, 
impetus  has  been  given  to  the  school  work,  and 
when  the  teachers  and  older  students  are  fully 
instructed  as  to  the  importance  of  Lord's  Day 
worship  and  forsake  not  to  assemble  with  the 
saints  and  fail  not  to  remember  the  Lord's  death 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  then  indeed  will 
the  school  and  church  truly  rejoice  together. 
Leaders  in  the  church  and  school  can  bring  round 
such  glorious  results. 

Our  Bible  schools,  in  Ohio  report  in  1916, 
show:  Forty-three  schools,  with  enrollment  of 
500  or  over  each.  Of  these,  21  have  enrollment 
of  500  to  700 ;  10  have  an  enrollment  of  from  700 
to  1,000,  and  12  have  enrollment  of  1,000  or  over. 


804 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


XXXIII 

CANTON  AND  COLUMBUS 

The  Wokld's  Laegest  Sunday  School,  Canton,  0. 

"Y'EAE.S  ago  people  went  to  Canton  to  see  the 
President,  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Cleve- 
land Leader.  Now  they  go  to  see  P.  H.  "Wel- 
shimer,  the  organizer  of  the  world's  largest  Sun- 
day school. 

It  was  a  great  sight  to  see  McKinley  conduct 
the  Presidential  campaign  from  the  front  porch 
of  his  simple  cottage  home,  but  it  is  no  less  a 
sight  to  see  "Welshimer's  Sunday  school,"  so 
called,  in  action. 

One  noted  churchman  visited  the  school  re- 
cently and  attempted  to  describe  it  to  his  congre- 
gation when  he  returned  home.  "No  one  knew  I 
was  coming,"  he  said,  "but  there  was  the  Bible 
school  just  the  same,  about  twenty-eight  hundred 
on  a  hot  Sunday  morning  when  the  thermometer 
was  soaring  and  the  vacation  bug  boring  and  the 
Sunday  sleeper  snoring;  there  they  were,  on  the 
job;  every  department  going  at  full  pressure; 
main  school  and  Intermediate,  Primary  and  kin- 
dergarten; classes  in  the  doorway,  on  the  stairs, 
outside  under  the  trees,  up  under  the  eaves,  down 
in  the  cellar,  hanging  out  the  windows,  clinging 
to  the  roofs,  and  coming  down  the  chimneys,  in 
the  office  and  on  the  rostrum,  in  the  organ  loft 
and  in  the  tonneau  of  a  big  red  touring-car 
hitched  at  the  curb." 

305 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


And  he  was  nearly  right.  The  First  Christian 
Church  is  a  square-shaped  building  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  average  church  one  sees,  and 
has  accommodations  for  a  Sunday  school  of 
forty-five  hundred,  yet  the  overflow  frequently 
sends  classes  into  the  doorways  and  out  under 
the  trees. 

When  the  school  is  in  action,  classes  appear 
to  be  everywhere,  yet  there  is  no  confusion. 
Every  class  has  its  allotted  space  and  its  corps  of 
teachers.  Every  class  is  perfectly  organized,  and 
each  of  the  five  separate  departments  operates 
independently  of  every  other,  each  having  its 
orchestra  or  piano,  choirmaster,  superintendent, 
teachers  and  such. 

The  whole  assemblage  suggests  a  well-trained 
army  studying  the  Bible.  While  the  classes  are 
in  session,  messengers,  officials  and  aides-de-camp 
fly  about  on  orderly  errands.  No  one  appears  to 
beat  the  air  uncertainly.  Every  department 
seems  to  be  connected  with  a  central  force. 

It  takes  little  more  than  a  cursory  glance  to 
show  that  Mr.  Welshimer  is  that  central  force. 
Pearl  was  the  name  given  him  by  his  mother,  but 
it  illy  fits  his  rugged  masculinity  and  general 
show  of  strength.  He  is  a  gem,  though,  at  direct- 
ing a  church  organization.  Tall,  broad-shouldered 
and  blonde  instead  of  the  usual  deiiberateness 
found  in  physically  big  men,  he  overflows  with 
nervous  energy.  He  occupies  the  pulpit  during 
the  school  session  and  supervises  over  all.  Under 
his  direct  charge  is  a  mixed  class  of  eighteen 
hundred  men  and  women,  a  huge  Bible  school  in 
itself  if  comparison  were  to  be  made  with  other 
schools. 

Hundreds  go  to  Canton  to  get  pointers  on 

306 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Sunday-school  organization.  Mr.  Welshimer 
gives  a  simple,  direct  instruction:  "Practice 
business  methods  in  your  school,"  he  says. 

Business  methods  are  practiced  at  the  First 
Christian  Church.  On  a  gilt  sign  nailed  on  the 
door  to  the  anteroom  of  Mr.  Welshimer 's  suite 
in  the  church  are  two  words,  ''Church  Office." 
These  words  are  the  key  to  the  secret  of  the 
growth  of  the  Sunday  school  and  church. 

The  anteroom  is  an  office,  really  and  truly. 
Inside,  typewriters  rattle  incessantly;  there  are 
young  women  clerks  at  neat  desks ;  steel-letter 
and  card-index  file-cases;  telephones  on  every 
desk;  automatic  telegraph  call-boxes.  Mr.  Wel- 
shimer has  his  study  up  a  flight  of  stairs  in  a 
corner  of  the  church  balcony,  but  he  calls  that 
room  an  office  too. 

"I  consider  myself  a  business  man  rather 
than  a  professional  man,"  this  remarkable 
church  leader  says.  "Preachers  have  long  been 
saying  to  the  people,  'Put  religion  in  your  busi- 
ness,' but  the  people  have  answered  back,  saying, 
'Put  business  in  your  religion.'  I  have  tried  my 
best  to  abide  by  this  answer.  I  sat  down  and 
studied  the  matter  of  operating  a  church  just  as 
I  believed  a  business  man  would  study  the  prob- 
lems of  operating  a  department  store  or  an  in- 
surance agency.  I  now  have  what  I  think  a  busi- 
ness man  would  call  a  'good  organization.'  I 
am  still  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  new  ideas, 
new  members  and  new  workers,  however.  Some 
day  a  larger  Sunday  school  than  ours  may  be 
developed,  but  I  believe  it  will  be  far  in  the 
future.  We  have  never  failed  to  make  healthy 
gains  each  year.  Canton  is  growing  rapidly  and 
we  will  not  lag  behind." 

307 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  First  Cliristiaii  Clinrcli  twelve  years  ag-o 
was  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  small.  Mr.  Wel- 
shimer  went  there  at  that  time  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight,  with  only  four  years'  experience 
in  a  church  at  Millersburg,  O.,  after  he  had  left 
Hiram  College.  The  church  enrollment  was  less 
than  two  hundred  and  the  Sunday  school  was 
nothing  at  all. 

By  gradual  steps  the  growth  was  effected. 
Now  the  church  has  an  enrollment  of  thirty-five 
hundred  and  the  Sunday  school  an  enrollment  of 
six  thousand.  In  the  first  six  months  of  1914  the 
average  weekly  attendance  at  the  Sunday  school 
was  2,898.  No  comparison  can  be  made  between 
this  school  and  the  average  Sunday  school. 

The  two  schools  coming  nearest  to  this  Can- 
ton school,  organized  and  operated  in  a  city  of 
sixty  thousand  people,  are  the  famous  school  in 
a  Presbyterian  church  in  Philadelphia,  over 
which  John  "Wanamaker,  the  noted  merchant,  has 
been  superintendent  for  the  last  fifteen  years, 
and  the  Frank  L.  Brown  school  of  the  Bushwick 
Avenue  Methodist  Church  of  Brooklyn. 

Mr.  Welshimer  says  his  school  has  grown 
rapidly  because  most  of  the  energy  of  the  church 
is  concentrated  on  the  Sunday  school.  His 
theor3^  is  that  the  Sunday  school  is  the  greatest 
evangelistic  force  in  existence.  Statistics  have 
been  compiled  by  him  showing  that  85  per  cent, 
of  church-members  were  recruited  from  the  ranks 
of  the  Sunday  school.  He  says  people  can  be 
led  to  a  Sunday  school  much  more  easily  than 
they  can  be  to  a  church.  In  a  church  the  pastor 
does  all  the  talking.  The  church-members  have 
no  ''comeback."  In  the  Sunday  school  there  is 
open  discussion.    Questions  can  be  asked  and 

308 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


argued.  Bible  questions  can  be  discussed  free 
of  denominational  theories. 

In  the  First  Christian  Church  the  pastor  is 
the  leader  of  the  school.  He  says  one  big  mis- 
take being  made  is  where'  pastors  permit 
their  Sunday  schools  to  slip  away  from  them 
into  the  hands  of  a  superintendent. 

"There  was  a  time,"  he  says,  "when  the  min- 
ister felt  that  his  chief  duties  were  to  preach 
on  Ijord's  Days,  call  on  the  sick,  attend  prayer- 
meetings,  and  be  entertained  iji  the  homes  of 
his  people.  That  was  when  Bible-school  work 
was  in  its  infancy.  Many  a  minister  has  con- 
sidered the  work  of  the  Bible  school  beneath  his 
notice.  It  has  been  the  place  for  a  few  pious  old 
men  and  the  women  and  children.  Occasionally 
a  minister  is  found  whose  entire  relationship  to 
the  school  consists  in  dropping  in  ten  minutes 
before  dismissal  and  'smiling  upon  the  school.' 
But  the  preacher  who  does  the  greatest  work, 
and  whose  influence  will  count  in  the  teaching  of 
the  Word  and  the  building  of  character — who 
will  have  a  great  school  to  be  used  as  a  field 
to  be  reaped,  then  a  force  to  be  worked — ^will 
need  to  give  something  else  besides  smiles." 

The  entire  city  is  considered  the  field  of 
endeavor  for  the  First  Christian  Church  Bible 
school.  Babies  are  enrolled  in  the  school  as 
soon  as  born;  new  families  moving  into  the  city 
are  recruited  or  at  least  sought  as  recruits,  and 
"landed"  nine  times  out  of  ten  unless  already 
affiliated  with  some  other  church  or  Sunday 
school. 

The  babies  are  put  on  a  "Cradle  Roll,"  and 
watched  closely  until  old  enough  to  commence 
Bible  studies.    A  "Hopeful  List"  is  also  kept. 

309 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Names  are  added  to  this  list  by  a  corps  of  one 
thousand  workers  well  trained  and  organized, 
and  from  the  list  new  members  are  constantly 
being  added  to  the  school. 

"We  have  a  record  for  bringing  new  families 
of  the  city  into  our  Bible  school  within  an  aver- 
age of  two  weeks,"  says  Mr.  Welshimer,  ''Our 
system  is  like  this : 

"As  soon  as  any  one  moves  into  our  city  we 
are  notified,  because  we  have  a  committee  that 
keeps  tab  on  all  grocery  stores  and  places  of 
business  whore  new  families  are  certain  to  put 
in  an  appearance  early  after  their  arrival. 

"I  immediately  set  my  stenographers  to 
work.  The  new  family  is  given  space  on  a  card 
that  goes  into  our  index  files  at  once.  Then  a 
stenographer  calls  up  twelve  members  of  the 
church  living  near  the  new  family,  and  instructs 
them  to  make  calls.  Those  twelve  church-members 
call  separately  and  extend  invitations  to  our  Sun- 
day school.  If  the  invitation  is  accepted,  the  new 
family  is  brought  to  the  school  and  a  tip  is  given 
the  reception  committee  that  is  always  on  duty 
at  the  church.  The  new  people  are  introduced  all 
round  and  made  to  feel  at  home.  If  the  first 
twelve  callers  should  fail  to  get  the  new  family 
into  the  school,  we  send  around  another  twelve. 
Those  failing,  I  send  my  assistant  pastor,  who  is 
a  very  tactful  and  energetic  young  woman.  I 
keep  her  busy  in  that  sort  of  work.  She  is  a 
kind  of  a  'walking  delegate'  of  the  church. 
Many  times  I  make  new  calls  on  new  families 
myseK.  Personal  contact  with  the  people  is 
always  advantageous." 

In  the  handling  of  the  Cradle  Roll  is  another 
instance  of  the  enterprise  of  this  church. 

310 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


"I  never  fail  to  get  a  report  on  the  birth  of 
a  child  in  the  families  of  any  of  our  church  or 
Sunday-school  members,"  Mr.  Welshimer  says. 
"I  immediately  notify  the  superintendent  of  the 
Cradle  Roll. 

''There  are  twelve  workers  under  that  super- 
intendent, and  each  of  them  makes  from  four  to 
six  calls  per  year  on  parents  of  every  child  on 
the  Roll.  A  new  baby  receives  a  call  from  the 
entire  corps,  one  at  a  time,  as  soon  after  birth  as 
possible.  Literature  on  how  to  care  for  babies  is 
tendered,  as  well  as  a  few  simple  presents.  The 
'child  is  immediately  registered  on  our  files  with 
all  sorts  of  information  about  it  and  its  parents. 
Thereafter  we  keep  track  of  the  child,  sending 
presents  and  making  calls  on  its  birthdays  and 
such.  When  it  grows  old  enough  it  naturally 
becomes  a  member  of  our  Sunday  school.  On 
June  1,  1914,  we  had  587  names  on  our  Cradle 
RoU." 

Special  days,  or  red-letter  days,  are  con- 
stantly being  held  in  the  school  to  keep  interest 
awake.  Printed  invitations  to  these  meetings 
are  usually  sent  through  the  mails.  Regular 
advertisements  appear  in  the  daily  newspapers 
for  the  church  and  Sunday  school.  Every  time 
a  member  of  the  school  misses  a  Sunday  a  score 
of  school  workers  are  on  his  or  her  heels  at  once. 
Why  the  absence?  Sick?  Out  of  town?  Any  of 
the  family  sick?  A  report  on  a  printed  form  is 
made  of  the  case  and  passed  along  to  the  proper 
committees  for  adjustment.  Lessons  and  liter- 
ature are  carried  to  absent  ones  so  they  will  not 
get  behind  in  their  work. 

The  church  and  the  school  has  each  its  own 
charity  organization,  its  own  library,  its  own 

311 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


clubs.  The  Sunday  school  has  broken  practically 
all  the  Sunday-school  records  ever  kept. 

Its  mixed  class  of  eighteen  hundred  taught  by 
Mr.  Welshimer  is  the  largest  class  of  its  kind  in 
the  world.  There  is  a  man's  Bible  class  in  the 
school,  with  an  enrollment  of  six  hundred  and 
an  average  attendance  of  about  five  hundred, 
which  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature 
of  the  whole  school.  Many  business  men  are  in 
this  class,  but  95  per  cent,  are  men  from  the 
factories  and  the  shops.  Charles  Sala,  a  manu- 
facturer, is  its  teacher. 

The  school  has  set  new  records  for  attend- 
ance at  three  different  times.  In  1913  it  held  the 
world's  record  for  a  single  day's  attendance, 
with  4,814.  June  21,  1914,  this  figure  was  moved 
up  to  5,433.  June  28,  1914,  the  latest  world's 
record  of  7,716  was  established,  and  on  that  Sun- 
day the  thermometer  in  Canton  reached  90  de- 
grees before  noon. 

The  above  record  was  from  the  Cleveland 
Leader  on  Sunday,  July  12,  1914. 

The  reports  of  the  Bible  schools  in  Ohio  in 
1916  show:  Forty-three  schools  with  an  enroll- 
ment, each,  of  500  or  over.  Of  these,  21  have  an 
enrollment  of  from  500  to  700 ;  10  have  an  enroll- 
ment of  from  700  to  1,000;  12  have  an  enrollment 
of  1,000  or  over. 

Columbus 

On  the  18th  day  of  June,  1871,  T.  D.  Garvin 
organized  the  church  in  Columbus.  Twenty-nine 
members  were  received  by  commendation,  and 
seven  by  confession  and  baptism,  making  thirty- 
six  in  all.  They  raised,  during  the  year,  $8,700, 
an  average  of  $87  to  the  member. 

312 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


In  January,  1872,  they  purchased  a  lot  on  the 
corner  of  Jay  and  Third  Streets.  On  this  they 
erected  a  small  frame  building,  Wm.  Williams 
doing  nearly  all  the  work  with  his  own  hands. 
In   1880   a   commodious   brick   structure  was 

At  "the  Ohio  0.  M.  S.  Convention  in  1872, 
Isaac  Errett,  the  president,  urged  reasons  for 
the  society  to  co-operate  in  building  up  the  cause 
at  Columbus,  "It  is  the  capital  of  the  State, 
and  as  such  we  all  have  an  interest  in  being  rep- 
resented there.  As  a  geographical,  political  and 
social  center,  it  has  facilities  for  reaching  out 
over  the  State  with  moral  and  religious  influ- 
ences such  as  belong  to  no  other  city  in  the 
State." 

The  0.  C.  M.  S.  encouraged  the  brethren  in 
the  State  to  aid  Bro.  T.  D.  Grarvin  in  his  solici- 
tation for  Columbus,  and  in  aU  they  gave  several 
thousand  dollars  to  aid  the  work  La  the  capital 
city. 

In  1903,  W.  S.  Priest  was  minister  for  the 
church,  and  in  1904  they  sold  the  Third  Street 
property  and  purchased  a  lot  at  Twenty -first  and 
Broad  Streets,  and  built  a  model  structure  cost- 
ing $55,000,  and  this  was  dedicated  iu  April, 
1907. 

The  growth  has  been  commendable.  There 
are  now  ten  churches  of  Christ  in  the  city: 

1.  Broad  Street. — Maxwell  HaU,  minister. 

2.  Chicago  Avenue. — W.  W.  Carter. 

3.  East  Columbus. — J.  H.  Garvin. 

4.  Furnace  Street  (S.  S.). 

5.  Hilltop.— T.  N.  Plunkett. 

6.  Indianola. — ^WiQard  A.  Guy. 

7.  Linden  Heights. — W.  A.  Roush. 

313 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


8.  South  Columbus.— R.  F.  Strickler. 

9.  West  Fourth  Avenue. — T.  L.  Lowe. 
10.  Wilson  Avenue. — Frank  M.  Moore. 

The  Columbus  brethren  co-operate  with  one 
another  in  extending  the  kingdom.  In  no  city  in 
Ohio  have  the  disciples  planned  with  greater 
wisdom  and  carried  their  plans  to  success. 

The  churches  now  (1917)  have  a  membership 
of  nearly  four  thousand  members  and  about  the 
same  number  in  the  Bible  schools.  In  nearly  all 
these  enterprises  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary 
Society  has  taken  a  humble  but  needful  part. 


314 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


A  fflSTORY  OF  THE 


XXXIV 

PIONEERS  IN  NORTHWESTERN  OHIO 

L.  L.  Carpenter,  George  Lucy,  Benjamin  Al- 
ton, Dana  Caul,  Solomon  Metzler,  A.  C.  Bart- 
lett,  J.  V.  Updike,  Moses  Bonham,  Z.  W.  Shep- 
herd, S.  M.  Cook,  S.  T.  Fairbanks,  David  Ayers, 
F.  M.  Green  and  G.  M.  Kemp  are  among  the 
pioneers  in  northwestern  Ohio. 

In  1839,  George  Lucy  preached  in  the  private 
house  of  John  Mercer,  in  Wood  County.  He  bap- 
tized three  persons.  In  1840,  Benjamin  Alton 
preached  in  the  same  place.  After  that  time 
John  and  William  Mercer  called  the  people  to- 
gether weekly  for  Scriptural  reading,  prayer 
and  social  meetings.  They  attended  to  the 
Lord's  Supper  every  Lord's  Day  for  four  years. 
Moses  Bonham  then  organized  a  church  at  Sugar 
Grove.  In  1858,  Nelson  Piper  reorganized  the 
church  at  Bethel,  now  Rudolph.  He  set  apart 
the  officers  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  Moses 
Bonham  alternated  in  preaching  at  Bethel  and 
Sugar  Grove.  Out  of  Bethel  largely  grew  the 
churches  at  Mungen,  Bowling  Green,  Fostoria, 
Tiffin,  Weston  and  New  Olivet.  North  Weston 
was  organized  about  1856;  Sugar  Grove  about 
1844.  Some  time  in  the  fifties.  Prairie  Depot, 
McComb  and  Ehnore  were  organized. 

Calvin  Smith,  of  Trumbull  County,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Soci- 

316 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


ety,  planted  the  church  at  Ehnore.  Samuel 
Church,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  started  a  church  in 
Toledo  in  those  early  days.  When  he  moved 
away,  the  church  in  Toledo  failed.  Again  a 
church  was  started  in  1872,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  0.  C.  M.  S.,  and  F.  M.  Green  was  the  first 
minister.  L.  L.  Carpenter  planted  churches  at 
Wauseon,  Tedrow,  and  at  other  places,  J.  V. 
Updike  planted  the  churches  at  Oak  Harbor, 
Delta  and  Paulding.  The  church  at  Lima  was 
planted  by  W.  T.  Moore  in  1869.  The  Kenton 
Church  was  organized  in  1852  by  Calvin  Smith. 
In  Miami,  Darke,  Shelby  and  Mercer  Counties, 
the  first  church  was  planted  at  Monroe  or  Fred- 
erick (Fidelity  P.  0.,  Miami  County),  in  1847. 
Among  the  first  preachers  there  were  Benjamin 
Wharton  and  Jasper  Swallow.  The  church  at 
Carnahan,  Darke  County,  was  organized  about 
1847  by  Benjamin  FranJdin.  J.  C.  Irvine  and 
William  Stone  preached  in  those  counties.  J. 
M.  Smith,  the  great  pioneer  of  those  counties, 
was  sent  out  by  the  volunteer  organization  of 
several  communities  and  he  sowed  the  seed,  and 
organized  fourteen  churches.  In  1875  this  dis- 
trict co-operation  was  joined  to  the  Ohio  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society  and  constituted  the 
Twenty-fifth  District.  The  substance  of  this 
chapter  was  read  at  a  State  convention  in  Colum- 
bus some  years  ago  and  is  a  fair  record  of  the 
pioneers. 

E.  P.  EWBKS 

Edwin  Patterson  Ewers  was  a  native  of  Bel- 
mont County,  0.,  born  in  1840  of  sturdy  English- 
Quaker  stock.  When  a  mere  lad  his  family 
moved  to  Defiance  County,  0.,  where  a  fine  farm 

317 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


was  by  father  and  son  carved  out  of  the  primitive 
forest.  Edwin  was  both  industrious  and  studi- 
ous. By  the  light  of  hickory  bark,  burning  in 
the  fireplace,  he  read  and  worked  over  his  les- 
sons. His  ambition  was  always  boundless.  He 
never  knew  discouragement.  He  was  soon  teach- 
ing school,  outstripping  all  the  other  workers 
in  the  harvest-fields  as  a  cradler,  lifting  the 
heaviest  loads,  throwing  stones  the  farthest  and 
proudly  riding  his  horse  as  marshal  of  the  day 
at  the  rural  celebrations.  He  courted  and  won 
Miss  Harriet  Bostater,  a  favorite  schoolteacher 
of  the  community,  and,  settling  in  a  log  house, 
he  farmed  and  also  taught  school  in  winter. 
Continuing  his  studies  at  home  and  seeking  out 
as  private  tutors  the  best  men  about,  he  was  soon 
called  to  become  superintendent  of  the  Pioneer 
(0.)  schools  and,  later,  of  th<&  West  Unity  (0.) 
schools.  During  these  years  he  had  graduated 
from  the  State  Normal  at  Columbus,  had  secured 
a  life  certificate  and  had  been  made  chairman  of 
the  school  examiners. 

His  ambition  now  led  him  to  found  a  school 
of  his  own.  Coming  from  Fayette,  0.,  and 
gathering  about  him  a  fine  group  of  men,  he 
established  the  Fayette  Normal,  Music  and 
Business  College,  of  which  he  was  president  for 
many  years.  A  high  grade  of  work  was  done, 
and  many  teachers,  ministers,  attorneys  and 
business  men  and  women  received  their  first  real 
inspiration  in  this  school,  many  of  them  finishing 
later  in  more  advanced  schools.  Pres.  Minor  Lee 
Bates,  of  Hiram  College,  was  a  student  here. 

Mr,  Ewers  had  always  declared  that  if  he 
ever  found  a  church  which  taught  the  plain  and 
simple  New  Testament  truths,  he  would  enter 

318 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


such  a  conunimion.  Hearing  Robert  Moffett,  he 
immediately  and  whole-heartedly  became  a  dis- 
ciple, and  a  Christian  Church  was  founded  in 
Fayette,  Mr.  Ewers  and  the  father  of  President 
Bates  being  elders  in  it  as  long  as  they  lived. 
Xeedless  to  say,  the  church  and  the  school  be- 
came closely  united  and  many  students  became 
members  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Mr.  Ewers  was  a  natural  teacher.  His  pupils 
loved  him  and  studied  hard  to  please  him.  Mathe- 
matics, usually  a  dry  study,  became  under  his 
touch  entrancing.  He  loved  his  students  and  in- 
spired them  to  noble  living.  Having  been  poor 
himself,  he  never  forgot  the  poor  young  man  or 
young  woman  who  was  ambitious  to  get  on  in 
the  world.  To  such  he  opened  his  home,  his 
purse  and  his  heart.  Hundreds  now  call  him 
blessed.  He  lives  in  the  hearts  of  those  whom 
he  lovingly  taught.  He  was  the  inspiration  of 
hundreds  of  young  people.  In  the  county  teach- 
ers' institute  he  was  a  great  favorite. 

He  lived  for  his  church,  his  school  and  his 
family.  One  daughter,  Alice  Adelia,  a  sweet  and 
brilliant  girl,  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen — a  de- 
voted Christian.  His  son,  John  Ray,  is  now 
minister  at  the  East  End  Christian  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  has  already  given  years  of 
his  life  to  the  ministry.  ■ 

While  the  school  above  described  was  not 
strictly  a  church  school,  yet  it  was  intimately 
associated  with  our  cause  in  northwestern  Ohio. 
In  a  hundred  prominent  places  to-day,  strong 
men  and  women  are  exercising  large  influence 
in  our  communion,  the  source  of  whose  inspira- 
tion was  the  Fayette  school  or  the  Fayette 
Church. 

21  319 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


S.  T.  Faiebanks 

S.  T.  Fairbanks  was  born  in  Massachusetts, 
and  came  to  Ohio  when  he  was  six  years  old. 
He  was  baptized  on  the  profession  of  his  faith 
in  Christ,  in  Medina  County,  in  1836,  and  soon 
after  commenced  preaching.  He  was  a  cripple 
from  the  time  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  He 
was  in  his  eighty-eighth  year  when  the  Lord 
called  him  to  his  eternal  home.  His  body  was 
buried  at  Weston,  Wood  Co.,  0.  He  served  in 
the  ministry  of  the  Word  sixty-five  years.  He 
had  a  good  library  composed  of  the  authors 
promulgating  the  Christian  faith.  He  had  a 
marvelous  memory,  and  could  quote  verse  and 
chapter  of  any  point  of  interest  found  between 
Genesis  and  Revelation.  He  was  truly  a  pioneer. 
It  was  with  profound  interest  and  pleasure  that 
he  watched  the  growth  of  the  Restoration  move- 
ment. His  labors  were  in  northern  and  north- 
western Ohio.  He  was  a  preacher  of  the  "Old 
School."  He  declared  the  gospel  rather  than 
interpreted  it.  He  knew  the  Bible,  and  not 
things  about  it.  He  had  hid  the  Word  of  the 
Lord  in  his  heart. 

He  encountered  dark  clouds  of  adversity  in 
his  early  ministry.  Persecution  ran  high.  In 
one  locality,  where  he  did  much  preaching,  a 
young  woman  schoolteacher  confessed  Christ  and 
obeyed  him  in  baptism.  Her  father  and  mother, 
though  members  of  a  sectarian  church,  disowned 
her  and  drove  her  from  their  home.  She  sus- 
tained herself  for  some  time  till  the  white  plague 
ruined  her  health.  The  brethren  in  the  little 
country  church  took  turns  and  cared  for  her  in 
their  own  homes.    When  she  was  buried,  the 

320 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


whole  church  went  as  mourners,  but  the  father 
and  mother,  living  only  two  miles  from  the 
church,  would  not  attend  the  funeral.  Such 
prejudice  as  that  the  pioneers  endured,  but  the 
schoolteacher,  forsaken  by  father  and  mother, 
the  Lord  took  up,  and  she  received  a  hundred- 
fold in  this  life,  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
life. 

Bro.  Fairbanks,  like  Paul,  with  a  thorn  in 
the  flesh,  persevered  to  the  end.  He  went  up 
through  the  persecutions  and  trials  of  this  life 
to  the  land  of  delight,  where  his  love  for  flowers 
will  be  greeted  with  flowers  of  endless  vari'ety; 
where  his  ambition  for  knowledge  will  find  mil- 
lions of  paths  along  which  to  play ;  and  where  his 
simple,  unaffected  love  will  bask  in  the  sunshine 
of  heaven  forever. 

1832 — -Lbewell  Lee  Caepenter — 1910 

L.  L.  Carpenter  was  born  in  Norton  Town- 
ship, Summit  Co.,  0.,  Dec.  10,  1832;  departed 
this  life  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  in  February,  1910. 
His  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  His 
parents  were  poor,  but  highly  respected,  people. 
They  endured  the  privations  of  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  eastern  Ohio.  L.  L.  was  the  seventh  son. 
He  was  raised  on  the  farm.  He  attended  the 
common  district  school  three  months  in  the  year, 
and  worked  nine  months  at  the  hardest  kind  of 
work.  All  his  spare  time  he  read  and  studied  at 
home  and  prepared  himself  to  teach  district 
school.  He  also  later  attended  local  academies. 
He  sawed  wood  and  did  local  jobs  of  work  as  he 
could  find  them.  Then  he  spent  two  years  at 
Bethany  College  under  the  training  of  Alex- 
ander Campbell.    This  was  one  of  the  fortunate 

321 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


privileges  of  his  life.  In  1853  he  accepted  the 
gospel  of  the  Christ.  His  life  was  an  open  book, 
and  upon  his  life-pages  have  been  recorded 
scores  of  acts  which  have  made  the  lives  of 
others  brighter:  cares  have  been  made  less  bur- 
densome; clouds  of  discouragement  have  been 
cast  from  the  sky  by  encouraging  words,  and 
many  have  found  their  lives  worth  harder  strug- 
gle by  attempting  to  live  more  as  he  did,  for  his 
life  was  in  accordance  with  his  Christian  teach- 
ing. 

No  other  minister  in  the  United  States,  and 
probably  in  the  world,  has  dedicated  so  many 
meeting-houses  as  L.  L.  Carpenter.  He  dedi- 
cated 752  churches.  He  commenced  preaching 
in  1857,  in  Fulton  County,  0.  He  went  all  over  the 
county,  preaching  in  schoolhouses,  bams,  private 
houses,  groves,  and  wherever  he  could  get  the 
people  together.  During  the  first  four  years  of  his 
ministry  in  that  county  he  baptized  more  than  a 
thousand  converts,  and  organized  seven  churches 
which  have  maintained  an  honorable  position  and 
are  still  strong  and  influential  churches.  For 
four  years,  commencing  in  1862,  he  was  treasurer 
of  Fulton  County,  but  continued  preaching  every 
Lord's  Day  and  held  several  protracted  meet- 
ings. He  helped  organize  the  State  Sunday 
School  Association,  and  was  its  first  president. 

In  Indiana  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Bethany  Assembly  Association.  This  is  now 
one  of  the  leading  Chautauquas  of  the  country. 
In  1906  he  made  a  trip  through  the  Orient,  Pales- 
tine and  Egypt.  He  spent  two  weeks  in  Jerusa- 
lem. He  visited  Jericho,  the  Red  Sea,  the  river 
Jordan,  the  city  of  Nain,  Nazareth,  Cana  of  Gali- 
lee, and  the  Sea  of  Galilee.   He  saw  many  of  the 

322 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


sacred  mountains — Mount  Carmel,  mountains  of 
Lebanon,  Mount  Tabor,  Mount  Hermon,  Mount 
Moriah  and  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  went  to 
Bethlehem,  where  Christ  was  born;  to  Jerusalem, 
where  he  was  crucified,  buried  and  rose  from  the 
dead.'  He  visited  the  Jordan,  where  Christ  was 
baptized;  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  where  He  walked 
the  waters  and  where  He  calmed  the  winds  and 
the  waves,  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  He 
ascended. 

Ohio  loaned  this  great,  good  man  to  Indiana 
for  awhile,  but  he  belonged  to  the  whole  world 
and  to  the  world  to  come.  It  wiU  be  a  long 
time  before  we  see  his  like  again. 

J.  V.  Updike 

J.  V.  Updike  was  born  in  Celina,  0.  He 
passed  from  earthly  life  at  Bloomington,  Ills. 

His  mother  was  Maria  Lincoln  and  a  relative 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  a  marvelous  man 
of  God  and  a  most  successful  Scriptural  evangel- 
ist. After  his  great  meeting  in  Des  Moines,  when 
563  were  obedient  to  Christ,  H.  0.  Breeden  and 
others  pronounced  him  the  greatest  living  evan- 
gelist, and  said:  "He  is  of  medium  stature,  has 
good  health  and  fine  spirits.  His  face,  smooth 
shaven,  usually  wears  a  smile.  The  eye  twinkles 
with  good  humor.  He  is  buoyant,  cheerful,  hope- 
ful and  sympathetic.  He  at  once  gets  on  good 
terms  with  his  hearers  by  frequent  recognition 
of  all  the  good  there  is  in  them,  especially  those 
who  differ  from  him  and  may  be  prejudiced 
against  his  doctrine.  His  elocution  is  assisted 
by  a  clear,  ringing  voice.  Its  tones  produce  a 
pleasant  sensation.  The  graces  of  oratory  are 
inmaolated  on  the  altar  of  truth. 

323 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


"His  sermons  are  gospel  sermons.  His  sole 
aim  in  preaching  is  to  exalt  Christ,  make  plain 
the  way  of  salvation,  to  expose  and  dissipate  the 
errors  of  sectarianism  and  turn  the  people  from 
their  sins. 

**He  has  oddities,  eccentricities,  is  fnll  of 
qnirks  and  witticisms  and  anecdotes  and  quaint 
sayings,  and  knows  how  to  use  invectives;  but 
those  are  used  and  made  tributary  to  the  main 
issue,  that  of  turning  men  and  women  to  Christ. 

"He  is  a  man  earnest,  fearless,  methodical 
and  confident,  rallying  an  army  of  well-trained 
workers.  He  inspires  them  with  hope,  sets  them 
tasks  which  turn  to  pleasure,  and  gives  them  an 
example  of  success  from  the  first.  He  knows 
men,  watches  for  opportunities,  uses  them,  defies 
prejudice,  talks  to  the  cormnon  people,  sets  the 
brain  cells  aquiver  with  a  wild  jest,  and  then 
directs  them  into  new  and  original  thinking. 
The  listener  himself  becomes  a  bold  thinker.  One 
night,  a  resolute  actor,  and  obedient  subject  the 
next.  Not  always  absolutely  correct  in  exegesis, 
rhetoric  or  grammar;  yet  his  theology  is  sound 
as  a  dollar. 

"He  has  no  time  for  the  subtleties  of  the 
higher  criticism.  The  ground  of  his  earnestness 
and  zeal  is  a  sublime  faith.  It  is  clouded  with  no 
doubts.  There  is  no  'if  or  'perhaps'  in  his  state- 
ments of  truth.  He  believes  the  Bible  from 
'back  to  back.'  Sin,  redemption,  judgment, 
heaven  and  hell  are  not  simple  possibilities,  but 
profound  realities. 

"In  his  method  of  preaching  he  takes  his 
text  and  keeps  it  in  the  exegetical  currents  of  the 
context.  He  makes  haste  leisurely  in  the  devel- 
opment of  his  subject.    Advancing  apace,  he 

324 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


steps  one  side  and  puts  up  a  sidelight  from  some 
fact  of  psychological  or  practical  principle  in 
the  context.  Then  by  and  by  another.  In  this 
way  he  strikes  off  some  palpable  hit  with  humor, 
ridicule  or  pathos.  Reaching  the  appeal,  these 
sidelights  are  all  aglow  with  rays  falling  upon 
the  main  path  of  the  sermon.  Everybody  says : 
'How  simple!  how  plain!' 

"Or,  to  change  the  figure,  these  frequent  side 
thrusts  at  the  follies,  prejudices  or  sins  of  the 
people,  mingled  wdth  commendations  of  the  good 
that  is  in  them,  form  a  series  of  electric  explo- 
sions, each  preparing  the  way  and  expectancy 
for  another.  Where  mil  he  strike  next?  Thus 
he  keeps  up  an  unflagging  interest  during  an 
hour-long  sermon  on  a  hackneyed  subject.  The 
appeal  comes,  and  so  do  sinners  to  confess 
Christ." 

The  record  of  some  of  his  Ohio  meetings  is 
here  given:  Findlay,  35  additions;  Elmore,  19; 
Edgcrton,  71 ;  Payne,  66 ;  Hedges,  71 ;  Paulding, 
196;  Lick  Creek,  60;  Fayette,  47;  Lyons,  106; 
Chesterfield,  51;  Wauseon,  33;  Beaverdam,  3; 
Lima,  97;  Cleveland  (Glenville),  18;  Cleveland 
(Miles  Avenue),  135;  Cleveland  (Franklin  Cir- 
cle), 125;  Cleveland  (Madison  Avenue),  98;  Ed- 
gerton,  13;  Hillsboro,  128;  Bryan,  8;  Delta,  128; 
Edon,  28;  Mansfield,  126;  Springfield,  226;  Day- 
ton, 97 ;  Hamilton,  122 ;  Harrison,  25 ;  Marion,  34 ; 
Delta,  15;  Bryan,  27;  East  Liverpool,  143;  Cin- 
cinnati (Central  Church),  51;  Cincinnati  (Fer- 
gus Street),  62;  Bluffton,  15;  Cincinnati  (Madi- 
sonville),  10;  Bucyrus,  71;  Akron,  72;  Toledo, 
121;  Mungen,  10;  Toledo  (a  second  meeting), 
183;  Ashtabula,  43;  M.assillon,  255;  Mentor,  128; 
Leipsic,  32  additions.    Many  other  meetings  he 

325 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


held  in  Ohio.  In  all  fields  he  won  over  thirty- 
thousand  to  the  Lord.  Many  invitations  came  to 
him  to  visit  England,  Australia  and  various  other 
lands. 

Following  is  a  brief  synopsis  of  one  of  his 
sermons  upon  the  theme,  Remember  Lot's 
Wife": 

Lot's  wife  is  a  warning  to  all  persons  not  to 
hesitate  to  do  God's  will.  You  remember  the 
circumstances  surrounding  Lot  and  his  wife. 
When  Lot  chose  to  settle  in  Sodom,  his  wife  did 
not  say:  "What  about  the  society?  Is  it  a  fit 
place  to  take  our  daughters?"  A  wife  may  make 
or  unmake  a  man.  Your  surroundings  have  just 
as  much  to  do  with  you  as  they  did  with  Lot  and 
his  family.  When  you  begin  to  play  cards,  pro- 
gressive euchre  or  high  five,  you  are  pitching 
your  first  tent  towards  Sodom.  Parlor  dancing 
and  ballroom  frequenting  is  the  second  move  to- 
wards Sodom.  Lot  settled  in  Sodom;  his  daugh- 
ters grew  up  and  were  married.  That  is  another 
trick  of  the  devil,  to  pay  off  the  church  by  marry- 
ing rakes  and  ungodly  men  to  your  daughters. 
Lot  plead  with  his  sons-in-law,  but  they  mocked 
him.  Too  late;  he  should  have  begun  with  his 
children  earlier.  Where  are  you  leading  your 
children?  You  must  get  right  with  God  yourself 
and  lead  your  family  that  way.  Lot 's  wife  began 
to  speculate  and  wonder  if  it  really  would  rain 
fire  and  brimstone.  People  are  being  lost,  specu- 
lating, asking;  "Can  I  not  get  to  heaven  if  I 
don't  do  this  or  that?"  Stop  seeing  how  little 
you  can  do  and  just  squeeze  into  heaven,  but  see 
how  much  you  can  do  for  the  Lord.  Escape  with 
thy  life!    Obey  God's  commands  in  full! 

Updike 's  book  of  sermons  has  had  a  large  sale. 

326 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Otho  H.  Williams         Traverce  Harrison  L.  R.  Gault 

SOME  OHIO  MINISTERS 

327 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


A  Stabtlikg  Discovebt 

Alexander  Campbell,  Walter  Scott  and  Bar- 
ton W.  Stone  discovered  that  the  Bible  was 
silent  on  the  subject  of  infant  baptism.  They 
had  adopted  the  slogan,  ''Where  the  Bible 
speaks,  we  speak;  where  the  Bible  is  silent,  we 
are  silent."  They  were  then  baptized.  Many  of 
the  pioneers  in  Ohio  made  the  same  discovery 
and  adopted  the  same  slogan,  and,  with  the 
eminent  restorers  of  original  New  Testament 
teaching,  studied  the  sin  of  Adam  once  more. 
This  resulted  in  some  startling  discoveries. 
These  discoveries  are  put  into  form  by  one  who 
wields  a  facile  pen,  about  as  follows: 

(1)  Final  and  eternal  perdition  is  never  the 
fruit  or  outcome  or  penalty  of  the  Adamic  sin! 
(2)  It  never  comes  to  any  except  those  who  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit.  (3)  Other  personal  sin- 
ning brings  dire  punishment,  but  never  eternal 
perdition.  (4)  It  follows,  therefore,  that  infants, 
and  all  who  are  morally  irresponsible,  are  not, 
and  never  have  been,  in  danger  of  final  and 
eternal  perdition.  (5)  Jesus  could,  therefore, 
take  an  unbaptized  little  child — one  who  had 
never  committed  any  personal  sin — and  say, 
"Except  ye  repent  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven"  (Matt.  18:3).  The  purest  thing  on 
earth  is  a  child  before  it  sins  personally.  It 
should  touch  your  heart  deeply  and  profoundly 
to  know  that  no  infant  in  all  the  ages  has  ever 
died  and  gone  to  perdition.  No  mother — Catholic 
or  Protestant,  Jewish  or  Mohammedan,  pagan 
or  heathen — wiU  ever  find  her  dead  baby  in  per- 
dition.   The  reason  is  plain:  no  baby  can  sin 

328 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


against  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  no  other  sin  brings 
final  perdition. 

We  may  approach  the  question  another  way. 
What  is  the  penalty  of  the  Adam  sin  and  how 
does  God  save  from  it?  The  penalty  is  stated 
fully  in  Gen.  3:14-19:  (1)  Penalty  for  the  ser- 
pent (vs.  14,  15) ;  (2)  penalty  for  the  woman  (v. 
16) ;  (3)  penalty  for  mankind  in  addition  (vs. 
17-19).  The  severest  part  of  the  penalty  for 
human  beings  is  the  death  of  our  bodies — dust 
to  dust.  If  Adam  had  not  sinned,  there  would 
have  been  no  graveyards  in  this  world — our 
bodies  would  never  die.  Adam  paid  the  penalty 
for  his  sin;  so  must  all  men.  In  all  the  ages  no 
one  ever  escaped  that  penalty  except  Enoch  and 
Elijah.  The  only  escap^^  from  this  penalty  is 
through  miracle.  In  other  words,  there  is  no 
salvation  from  the  Adam  sin.  Every  child  must 
pay  the  penalty,  either  in  infancy  or  later  in  life. 
Neither  baptism  nor  anything  except  a  miracle 
can  save  from  this  sin. 

While  we  are  not  saved  from  the  Adam  sin, 
we  are  saved  after  that  sin  has  done  its  worst ! 
How  are  we  saved?  By  a  miracle — by  the  gift 
of  new  bodies — by  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  Both  infants  and  adults  are  saved  in  the 
same  way.  Both  good  and  bad  receive  this  new 
body  (1  Cor.  15:  22).  What  we  want  is  the  first 
resurrection  (Rev.  20:  6).  For  a  new  body  with 
a  lost  soul  in  it  is  eternal  perdition.  Since 
both  the  baptized  and  the  unbaptized  receive  new 
bodies,  baptism  has  no  place  here.  For  another 
reason  it  has  no  place.  Baptism  is  for  the  remis- 
sion, or  forgiveness,  of  sin.  In  this  case  we  all 
suffer  the  penalty,  and  there  is  no  remission  of 
the  penalty — no  pardon. 

329 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


The  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  is  radically 
different  from  the  Adam  sin.  After  the  Adam 
sin  has  seized  one  and  made  him  pay  the  penalty, 
Christ  comes  in  and,  by  a  miracle,  saves.  When 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  has  seized  one, 
there  is  no  hope,  no  pardon,  no  redeemer,  no  sal- 
vation for  the  baptized  or  the  unbaptized. 

He  who  is  saved  from  his  other  personal  sins 
and  from  the  polluting  fountain  within,  from 
which  they  issued,  is  not  in  danger  from  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit.  How  does  God  save 
such  as  these? 

(1)  Not  by  pardon  alone.  If  I  should  live  ten 
thousand  years  and  get  pardon  every  day,  the 
fountain  of  sin  would  not  yet  be  dried  up  within 
me.  I  would  not  yet  be  perfect  and  in  the  moral 
likeness  of  Christ.  According  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, God  must  sometimes,  somewhere,  bring  us 
into  such  perfection  that  we  will  no  longer  need 
pardon;  no  longer  need  all  of  the  prayer  Jesus 
taught  us  all  to  use;  no  longer  need  the  reproofs 
of  conscience.  Pardon  alone  will  not  bring  us 
into  this  blessed  state. 

(2)  Christianity  has  a  power  which  neither 
Judaism  nor  any  other  religion  ever  had.  This 
power  will  dry  up  the  fountain  within  from 
which  all  our  personal  sins  come  forth.  Given 
time  and  co-operation  on  our  part,  and  this 
power  will  crowd  out  and  build  in  till  we  no 
longer  need  pardon.  This  power  is  sometimes 
called  in  the  New  Testament  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  sometimes  **the  life,"  or  life 
eternal.  It  is  a  power  which  no  priest  or  pope 
has  ever  given  or  been  able  to  take  away.  To 
finally  reject  it  is  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

330 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


The  new  birth  has  back  of  it  two  processes: 
(1)  A  preparation  of  the  heart,  like  that  of  a 
field  ready  for  the  sowing  of  the  seed,  and  (2) 
the  depositing  of  that  new  life-power  in  the  heart 
— the  sowing  of  living  seed  that  it  may  grow 
into  all  that  God  has  given  it  to  become.  Pardon 
of  sins,  or  forgiveness,  is  a  part  of  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  heart  which  brings  us  to  baptism  for 
the  remission,  or  pardon,  of  sins — not  pardon  of 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  that  has  no 
pardon  and  no  help  or  hope;  not  pardon  of  the 
sin  of  Adam,  for  there  is  no  pardon  from  it — all 
pay  the  penalty  and  after  that  are  saved  by  a 
miracle.  Baptism  is  for  the  remission  of  our 
other  sins — sins  such  as  infants  never  commit; 
from  which  they  are  as  pure  as  the  driven  snow. 
In  this  case,  baptism  is  not  worth  anything  with- 
out preceding  heart  preparation;  without  (1) 
confession  of  Christ  Jesus  with  the  mouth  (Rom. 
10:9,  10;  Acts  8:37;  Luke  12:8;  Matt.  10:32). 
Can  an  infant  do  this?  (2)  It  is  worthless  when 
not  preceded  by  repentance  (Luke  13:3;  Acts  2: 
38).  No  infant  can  repent.  (3)  It  is  worthless 
without  faith  in  Christ,  as  the  good  confession 
wiU  show,  and  without  faith  in  God  (Heb.  11:  6; 
Acts  16:  30,  31,  33).  In  fact,  it  is  called  baptism 
because  it  shows  faith — shows  repentance — shows 
burial  in  water — shows  aU  these  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  who  is  confessed.  What  gives  baptism 
its  worth?  The  repentance  and  the  faith  which 
it  contains  and  shows.  Where  do  this  repentance 
and  this  faith  come  from?  From  the  hearts  of 
men.  So  this  one  word,  "water  baptism,"  stands 
for  the  whole  process  of  heart  preparation  made 
by  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit — 
made  through  the  Bible,  the  home   and  the 

331 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


church.  Not  uiitil  they  become  responsible  can 
this  heart  preparation  begin  with  infants.  If  we 
do  not  undergo  this  heart  preparation,  do  not 
become  as  little  children,  we  can  not  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Without  it  the  new  birth  is 
impossible. 

De.  S.  M.  Cook 

It  may  be  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  some 
day  will  find  a  place  for  a  cabinet  of  elder  states- 
men, after  the  fashion  of  the  renowned  body  of 
that  name  in  Japan.  In  such  a  case,  Ohio  would 
surely  rise  as  one  man  and  name  for  charter 
membership  in  the  body  Stephen  Marcellus 
Cook,  M.D. 

This  wise  and  discreet  Elder  Statesman" 
first  met  his  Baptist  parents  in  Morrow  County, 
0.,  Oct.  1, 1845.  He  was  the  sixth  of  their  ten  chil- 
dren. These  parents  were  two  of  the  ''twelve" 
who  formed  themselves  into  the  church  of  Christ 
at  North  Branch,  now  Waterford,  in  Knox 
County.  Three  generations  of  Baptist  ministers 
were  in  the  family,  but  the  doctor  solemnly  avers 
that  ''the  strain  of  ministerial  blood  over- 
balanced this  strain  of  total  hereditary  de- 
pravity." He  was  baptized  into  the  life  worth 
living  in  his  fourteenth  year. 

Saying  nothing  of  his  early  desire  to  preach, 
he  took  college  work  in  the  district  school  near 
the  Cook  home,  and  later  pursued  literature  in 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University  and  at  Hiram  College. 
Then,  turning  his  attention  to  the  healing  art,  he 
so  studiously  pursued  medicine  in  the  University 
of  Michigan  and  in  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio, 
at  Cincinnati,  that  he  graduated  as  first-honor 
man  in  the  latter  institution  at  the  age  of  twenty- 

332 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


five.  Meanwhile,  lie  had  turned  his  attention  to 
domestic  art  also,  and  persuaded  Margaret  Hard- 
grove  to  join  him  in  the  practice  of  this  art.  In 
the  fall  of  1870  they  established  the  home  which 
has  been  a  benediction  and  a  blessing,  not  only 
to  the  children  of  the  family,  but  to  all  others 
who  have  ever  enjoyed  its  fellowship. 

Returning  from  medical  college,  the  young 
doctor  quickly  gained  a  large  practice  in  his  home 
community.  He  became  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  and  was  called  upon  with  increas- 
ing frequency  for  supply  work  in  the  pulpit,  for 
funeral  discourses,  and  much  other  work  directly 
within  the  church.  Speaking  of  this  busy  period, 
the  doctor  said,  reminiscently :  always  aimed 
to  attend  church  at  least  once  on  Sunday,  for  I 
felt  the  need  of  religious  worship  and  work  to 
help  me  retain  my  interest  and  faith  in  the  Chris- 
tian life.  In  the  busiest  days  of  my  professional 
life  I  found  time  to  meet  with  my  brethren  and 
be  refreshed  by  their  fellowship  and  companion- 
ship. I  believe  that  thus  I  was  made  stronger, 
and  able,  both  physically  and  mentally  as  well  as 
morally,  to  do  more  and  better  work  for  my 
patients." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  seven  years,  it  became 
necessary  to  choose  between  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, which  paid  a  good  income,  and  the  practice 
of  the  gospel  ministry,  which,  at  that  time,  paid 
scant  reward  in  money  for  devoted  service. 
Friends  of  the  young  practitioner  urged  almost 
unanimously  that  he  remain  in  the  practice  for 
which,  by  nature,  education  and  experience,  he 
seemed  so  eminently  fitted.  One  human  voice 
alone  was  left  to  fortify  the  voice  that  called  from 
within — the  wife,  on  whom  the  heaviest  burden 

333 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


of  sacrifice  and  change  must  fall,  added  her 
urgent  counsel  that  the  medical  profession  be 
abandoned  and  that  his  life  be  devoted  to  the 
gospel  ministry.  It  was  only  after  much  search- 
ing of  heart  that  at  length  the  medical  practice, 
with  what  was  left  of  the  good  will  of  the 
patients,  was  sold. 

This  was  the  work  of  faith,  and  thus  was  it 
undertaken.  Six  children,  small  and  very  much 
alive,  were  in  the  home;  the  wife  and  mother, 
not  robust  physically;  a  small  home,  with  an 
incumbrance  upon  it;  the  first  year  of  preaching 
rewarded  with  about  $20  a  month  for  the  year; 
labor  abundant;  inexperience  and  a  lack  of  skill 
in  meeting  the  vicissitudes  of  a  pioneer  preach- 
er's life;  the  depressions  which  human  circum- 
stances pressed  and  crowded  upon  the  faithful 
hearts  who  constituted  the  home.  Only  an  in- 
domitable and  an  abiding  faith  in  an  unconquer- 
able Christ  kept  Dr.  Cook  unfalteringly  in  the 
line  of  his  decision. 

The  old  Bell  Church,  near  North  Branch,  was 
the  scene  of  the  first  two  weeks'  meeting.  There 
were  thirty-two  baptisms  and  many  friendships 
gained  there.  For  eight  years  this  evangelistic 
ministry  in  Knox,  Morrow  and  adjacent  counties 
continued.  The  Lord  added  more  than  a  hun- 
dred annually.  Calls  multiplied.  Then  came 
the  settled  pastorate  for  two  years  at  North 
Eaton,  0. 

Most  of  this  ministry  was  in  the  transition 
period  from  the  stern  legalism  advocated  by  the 
old  American  Christian  Review  into  the  larger 
liberty  and  service  of  Christ  and  the  develop- 
ment of  missionary  spirit.  So  far  as  his  influ- 
ence could  reach.  Dr.  Cook  was  a  worthy  factor 

334 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


in  the  better  adjustment  of  this  transition.  One 
reason  for  this,  perhaps,  lay  in  the  fact  that  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Cook  yearned  ceaselessly  in  heart  to  go 
as  foreign  missionaries  to  any  alien  land.  But 
God  seemed  to  will  it  otherwise.  Finally,  with 
as  prayerful  purpose  as  ever  prompted  any  mis- 
sionary to  go  to  foreign  fields,  the  Cooks  went  to 
Wood  County  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Mun- 
gen.  Here  for  some  years  evangelistic  work 
throughout  the  district,  at  Martinsburg  and  at 
Fayette,  filled  the  time  full  until  Dr.  Cook  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  churches  at  Mungen 
and  Rudolph.  Meanwhile,  a  most  important 
result  of  his  years  of  ministry  was  becoming 
apparent,  for,  from  the  first.  Dr.  Cook  had  sought 
out  young  men  and  encouraged  them  to  enter  the 
ministry.  S.  M.  Cooper,  S.  W.  Traum,  D.  R. 
Bebout,  Frank  L.  Simpson,  John  Ray  Ewers, 
Minor  Lee  Bates,  J.  H.  Miller,  D.  P.  Shaffer, 
Nicholas  Zulch,  and  others,  are  among  those 
whom  Dr.  Cook  enthusiastically  declares  to  be 
"new  edjtions,  revised  and  greatly  enlarged." 

With  the  three  older  children  of  the  household 
ready  for  college,  the  possible  income  from 
preaching  was  so  clearly  inadequate  that  the 
doctor  now  resumes  the  practice  of  the  medical 
profession,  the  study  of  which  he  has  never 
ceased.  In  a  very  literal  way  Dr.  Cook  became 
the  medical  and  spiritual  pastor  of  a  large  part 
of  Wood  County.  Much  of  his  practice  was  "on 
the  Jericho  road."  It  was  a  rare  treat  to  a 
stranger  to  accompany  the  doctor  on  any  one  of 
his  daily  trips — from  the  time  he  loaded  up  his 
carriage  in  the  morning  with  dental  instruments, 
surgical  instnmaents,  obstetrical  instruments, 
Bible,  hymn-book — everything  in  readiness  for 

22  335 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


any  sort  of  a  call  which  a  pioneer  settlement 
might  unexpectedly  produce — ^until  evening-time, 
when  the  family  were  once  more  gathered  for 
family  worship  before  they  separated  for  study 
and  for  sleep.  On  the  one  side  lay  the  shifting, 
serio-comic  tragedy  punctuated  by  droll  humor 
and  whimsical  comment,  a  genial  soul  who  always 
saw  both  the  pathetic  and  the  ludicrous  in  normal 
proportions.  On  the  other  side  were  the  calm 
serenity  and  unbroken  gladness  toward  God 
which  are  the  triumph  of  Christian  faith. 

The  stranger  would  not  be  so  fortunate  if  he 
were  invited  to  accompany,  day  after  day,  the 
doctor  in  his  widely  extended  trips.  Carriage 
succeeded  buggy,  and  phaeton  succeeded  carriage 
in  rapid  succession  as  the  little  sorrels  wore  out 
one  after  another  on  the  Wood  County  roads, 
which  were,  in  themselves,  a  triumph  of  the  road- 
maker's  art.  During  a  full  half  of  the  year  there 
was  splendid  bottom  to  the  roads,  when  the  hoofs 
of  the  horses  or  the  tires  of  the  wheels  could 
reach  down  to  it — at  times  hubs  and  axles  pre- 
vented the  wheels  from  reaching  anywhere  deep 
enough.  During  the  remaining  half  of  the  year 
the  roadways  seemed  to  try,  by  a  sort  of  dumb 
(worse  than  that)  retribution,  to  get  even  with 
those  who  had  the  temerity  to  use  them.  The 
incessant  heavy  hauling  of  oil-field  equipment 
and  products  kept  the  roads  in  a  really  frightful 
condition.  But  day  in  and  day  out,  for  seven 
years,  like  an  angel  of  God,  Dr.  Cook  spread  his 
influence  throughout  this  whole  territory,  even 
though  the  physical  exaction  and  nervous  ex- 
haustion left  him  utterly  broken  in  health. 

The  windows  of  heaven  were  being  opened 
up  throughout  the  soil,  and  crude  oU  was  pour- 

336 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


ing  wealth  into  the  pocketbooks  of  both  the  just 
and  unjust.  To  teach  by  precept  and  example 
the  Christian  stewardship  of  wealth  was  the  con- 
scious obligation  and  opportunity  which  the 
Cooks  faced.  The  Mungen  Bible  school  was  one 
of  the  very  first  to  break  down  the  blasphemous 
barriers  of  penny  contributions  and  to  give  gen- 
erously and  joyously  more  than  $500  as  a  mis- 
sionary offering  to  the  Lord. 

The  lifelong  habit  of  studying  humanity  with 
the  same  care  he  has  studied  divinity ;  of  keeping 
in  touch,  through  wide  reading,  with  the  world  of 
the  past  and  of  the  present;  of  keeping  in  close 
touch  with  progressive  and  conservative,  insur- 
gent and  standpatter,  critic,  mystic  and  orthodox, 
choice  fiction,  poetry  and  selected  nonsense;  of 
theorizing  prayerfully  and  practicing  faithfully 
the  human  application  of  God's  gospel  of  salva- 
tion— this  composite  fact  makes  Dr.  S.  M.  Cook 
a  counselor  of  rare  discretion;  an  adviser  whose 
insight  and  foresight  are  fortifiied  by  a  deep  and 
wide  experience;  a  Christian  gentleman  whose 
friendship  is  a  thing  to  be  prized,  and  whose 
counsel  is  invaluable. 

Once  and  again  has  the  angel  of  death  entered 
the  home.  Affliction  has  laid  her  cold  hand  close 
upon  the  heart.  Adversity  has  camped  within 
the  doorway,  but,  through  all  and  above  all, 
quietude  of  faith  in  the  living  Christ  has  been 
conspicuous  in  the  life  of  the  Cook  household, 
and  no  earth-born  cloud  can  rob  it  of  its  light 
and  power.  In  words  which  might  be  his  own: 
''The  realities  of  joy  and  great  sorrow  have  done 
for  me,  by  the  help  of  the  Master,  what  nothing 
else  could  do  in  giving  me  a  charity  and  sym- 
pathy for  others.    The  world  of  suffering  and 

23  337 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


sorrow  can  be  entered  only  through  the  doorway 
of  affliction,  temptation  and  pain.  Even  the  Son 
of  man  could  not  be  made  perfect,  except  through 
suffering." 

Asked  to  enumerate  some  of  his  chief  mis- 
takes, the  "Elder  Statesman"  says  they  are:  "(1) 
The  lack  of  thorough  preparation.  The  best 
and  most  work  can  be  done  only  after  having 
a  thorough  educational  equipment  for  the  tasks. 
(2)  The  failure  to  complete  thoroughly  whatever 
was  begun.  Too  much  work  has  always  been 
left  half  done.  This  is  a  source  of  grief.  (3) 
Failure  of  proper  control  of  temper  and  tongue. 
(A  voice  in  the  household  rises  up  to  say,  'That 
sounds  like  a  joke  to  me.')  To  eliminate  from 
my  life  every  impatient,  cross  and  impure  word 
would  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  triumphs,  were  it 
possible.  (4)  Lack  of  a  systematic  and  orderly 
student  habit  at  all  times  and  everywhere.  The 
constant  study  of  nature,  events,  books,  human- 
ity, and  the  adjustment  of  life's  labors  to  others 
and  in  their  behalf,  is  the  ideal  life.  The  student 
habit  makes  the  old  man  young  and  the  young 
man  wise.  It  gives  tolerance  toward  all. "  Many 
men  have  been  guilty  of  making  these  mistakes. 

At  a  time  when  men  are  old,  and  many 
preachers  are  forlorn.  Dr.  S.  M.  Cook  is  younger 
in  mind,  in  heart,  in  sympathetic  human  touch,  and 
in  preaching  power,  than  many  men  of  half  his 
years.  Visitors  of  high  ideals,  pure  hearts,  and 
Godward  tastes  and  tendencies,  find  a  welcome 
as  eager  as  is  the  hospitality  which  greets  the 
humblest  and  most  forlorn  of  God's  creatures 
who  come  to  the  door.  In  a  very  Christian  way, 
as  one  of  God's  true  saints  alive.  Dr.  S.  M.  Cook 
embodies  the  sentiment  of  Foss's  words: 

338 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


"Let  me  live  in  a  house  by  the  side  of  the  road, 

Where  the  race  of  men  go  by — - 
The  men  who  are  good  and  the  men  who  are  bad, 

As  good  and  as  bad  as  I. 
I  would  not  sit  in  the  scomer's  seat. 

Or  hurl  the  cynic's  ban. 
Let  me  live  in  a  house  by  the  side  of  the  road, 

And  be  a  friend  to  man." 

1839— F.  M.  Green— 1911 

F.  M.  Green  engaged  in  all  kinds  of  intellec- 
tual work.  He  was  a  teacher  in  the  common 
schools,  a  preacher,  and  successful  as  a  pastor, 
an  evangelist  of  marked  ability,  a  secretary  of 
the  Eastern  Ohio  Ministerial  Association  for 
twenty  years,  a  successful  corresponding  secre- 
tary of  the  American  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety, traveling  night  and  day  through  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  student  at  Hiram  and 
later  a  trustee  of  the  college.  He  was  a  writer 
of  ability  for  the  American  Christian  Review, 
the  Christian  Standard  and  other  periodicals. 
He  was  the  writer  of  good  books,  preparing  the 
work  for  training  teachers  for  the  Bible  school, 
and  a  Christian  ministers'  manual.  He  wrote 
"The  Life  of  James  A.  Garfield,"  "The  Life  and 
Times  of  John  F.  Rowe,"  and  "The  History  of 
Hiram  College."  He  was  elected  to  the  Ohio 
Legislature  from  Summit  County,  and  gave  dis- 
tinguished service  for  two  years.  He  made  a 
trip  to  the  Eastern  States,  and  the  British 
Provinces  of  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia  and 
Prince  Edward  Island,  and  was  cordially  re- 
ceived by  the  churches. 

In  Ohio  he  will  be  remembered  as  co-operat- 
ing with  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary  Society 
in  organizing  and  preaching  for  the  church  in 
Toledo.    A  preliminary  work  began  in  1872. 

339 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


During  1873,  F.  M,  Grreen  was  employed  to 
work  as  pastor  and  agent  of  the  0.  C.  M.  S.  to 
go  among  the  churches  and  raise  money  to  build 
a  house  of  worship.  He  moved  to  the  city  in 
August,  and  soon  afterward  organized  a  church, 
beginning  with  twenty  names.  On  the  24th  of 
November  the  house  was  dedicated.  A  lot  was 
given  by  a  friend.  The  house  cost  $5,500.  The 
most  of  the  money  was  given  by  the  friends  in 
Toledo.  Bro.  Green  remained  in  charge  of  this 
work  about  two  years.  From  this  central  church 
other  congregations  have  sprung  up  and  the 
Toledo  work  is  growing.  George  Darsie,  in  pre- 
senting a  sketch  of  Bro.  Green's  life,  says: 

"He  believed  in  prayer,  but  not  a  parade  of 
it.  He  rejoiced  and  was  happy  with  God's  peo- 
ple around  the  Lord's  table  in  his  house  on  the 
Lord's  Day.  God  was  his  Father — good,  kind, 
tender,  loving,  forgiving,  merciful — and  not  a 
theological  abstraction.  His  promises  were  sure 
and  lasting.  To  his  mind  Jesus  the  Christ  was 
the  perfection  of  beauty  and  the  perfection  of 
goodness,  abundant  in  mercy,  plenteous  in  re- 
demption, after  whom  he  should  pattern  his  life, 
and  to  whom  he  looked  for  salvation  both  here 
and  hereafter.  To  him  the  Bible  was  the  sum  of 
all  wisdom  and  philosophy,  the  Book  of  books, 
the  book  of  God,  by  which  he  should  square  his 
conduct.  Like  Enoch,  'he  walked  with  God.' 
Like  Barnabas,  'he  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  of  faith, '  To  him  death  came  as 
a  friend  and  not  an  enemy;  a  servant  and  not  a 
master;  a  blessing  and  not  a  curse;  though  gone 
from  earth,  he  still  lives  in  our  midst  and  ever 
shall. 


340 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


Pres.  H.  S.  Lehr  M.  P.  Hayden  Prof.  J.  G.  Parks 

PKOMINENT  OHIO  DISCIPLES 
341 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


XXXV 


MISCELLANEOUS  ITEMS  OF  INTEREST 


HE   leaders  in  the  Restoration  movement 


were  educated  men.  Schools  of  every  grade 
have  been  founded  by  disciples.  The  principles 
of  our  movement  tend  to  make  every  one  a 
patron  of  education.  Protestant  sects,  calling 
themselves  "Evangelical,"  held  to  the  direct  or 
mystic  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul, 
and  that  the  knowledge  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin 
is  an  experience  in  the  soul,  just  as  hunger  and 
thirst  or  headache  and  toothache  are  experiences 
in  the  body.  Persons  were  taught  to  expect  such 
a  divine  power,  and  that  they  must  pray  for  it. 
Such  views  did  not  stir  one  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. Their  religion  did  not  move  them  to 
plant  and  patronize  schools.  Restorationists,  on 
the  other  hand,  held  that  the  truths  of  religion 
are  revealed  in  the  word  of  God,  and  that  he  who 
would  know  them  must  apply  himself  to  under- 
stand the  Bible.  Disciples  held  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  more  than  an  impulse  from  Grod, 
working  mystically  on  man's  nature.  To  them 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  a  divine,  intelligent  person 
who  communicates  his  knowledge  of  the  things  of 
God  in  the  words  he  has  spoken.  This  intelli- 
gence is  to  be  understood  and  believed  through 
the  exercise  of  man's  natural  faculties.  The 
disciples  in  their  preaching  appealed  to  the 


Schools. 


342 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


understanding  of  man,  and  they  trusted  in  the 
power  of  truth  believed  to  move  the  heart  and 
conscience  and  will.  So,  they  held  that  men  of 
cultivated  minds  would  more  readily  grasp  relig- 
ious truth,  and  specially  such  would  be  more 
successful  in  communicating  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth  to  others.  Their  zeal  in  religion,  there- 
fore, made  them  zealous  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion. When  they  start  in  a  community  the  best 
educated  move  first.  The  learned  and  not  the 
ignorant  become  disciples  of  Christ. 

The  disciples  in  Ohio  have  always  been  in- 
terested in  schools.  Before  the  State  high- 
school  system  was  put  into  practice,  and  even 
since,  schools  of  a  high  order  have  been  started. 

About  1842,  D.  S.  Burnet  was  principal  and 
proprietor  of  Hygeia  Female  Athenium,  situ- 
ated on  the  heights  seven  miles  back  of  Cincin- 
nati. This  Athenium  proposed,  for  moderate 
extra  charges,  to  teach  "Piano,  Guitar,  French, 
Painting,  Wax  Fruit,  Wax  Flowers,  Shellwork, 
Flowers  as  Taught  in  Paris,  and  Embroideries," 
and  prescribed  for  summer  uniform,  ''Pink  and 
Blue  Lawns,  and  for  Common  Wear,  Dark  Plaid 
Ginghams. ' ' 

T.  D.  Garvin  built  up  a  college  at  Wilming- 
ton, Clinton  County,  and  it  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  the  Friends. 

Alonzo  Skidmore  started  the  Ohio  Central 
College  at  East  Liberty,  Logan  County.  It  is 
now  the  Central  High  School  of  that  place.  It 
started  into  the  wide  field  of  usefulness  such 
men  as  I.  J.  Cahill  and  C.  A.  Freer. 

E.  P.  Ewers  founded  the  Fayette  Normal, 
Music  and  Business  College,  of  which  he  was 
president.    Later  it  was  removed  to  Wauseon. 

343 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


TMs  school,  though  not  strictly  a  church  school, 
was  intimately  associated  with  our  cause  in 
northwestern  Ohio.  It  was  a  source  of  inspira- 
tion to  many  men  and  women  now  in  active  life. 

The  Ohio  Normal  University  at  Ada,  0.,  was 
a  marvelous  school  started  by  H.  S.  Lehr.  J.  G. 
Parks  and  other  eminent  teachers  were  connected 
with  this  school.  It  claimed  to  give  classical, 
scientific,  business,  legal,  military,  pharmaceu- 
tical and  musical  education.  It  had  university 
powers  and  conferred  degrees.  In  1892  there 
was  an  enrollment  of  2,810  students.  Twenty- 
seven  States  and  several  foreign  countries  were 
represented. 

The  great  institution  of  learning  at  Valpa- 
raiso, Ind.,  is  a  child  and  outgrowth  of  Ada.  At 
Ada  were  started  in  useful  career  such  men  as 
Austin  Hunter,  S.  J.  White,  W.  F.  Rothenburger, 
P.  H.  Welshimer,  J.  P.  Myers  and  many  others. 
As  the  school  was  owned  by  private  individuals, 
they  had  a  right  to  pass  it  over  to  others.  It 
is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Methodists,  and  stiU 
popular  and  influential. 

The  Cyrus  McNeely  Normal  School  at  Hope- 
dale,  Harrison  County,  in  1869  had  about  two 
hundred  students  in  attendance.  Its  object  was 
to  train  teachers  for  the  public  schools.  The  in- 
fluence of  this  school  was  felt  in  all  central- 
eastern  Ohio.  It  was  equipped  with  a  gymnasium 
and  trained  the  body  as  weU  as  the  mind. 

The  Mount  Vernon  Ladies'  Seminary  was 
located  at  Mt.  Vernon  in  Knox  County.  R.  R. 
Sloan  and  wife  were  principals.  It  was  well 
graded,  and  had  a  fair  attendance  for  nearly 
thirty  years.  Mrs.  A.  M.  Atkinson  was  for  a 
time  a  member  of  its  Faculty.    It  was  a  private 

344 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


institution  at  first,  but  was  given  into  the  hands 
of  a  Board  of  Trustees  later,  but  could  not  com- 
pete with  the  high-school  system  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  is  now  closed.  Its  career  was  long  and 
useful.  Many  homes  have  been  made  intelligent, 
sweet  and  happy  as  the  result  of  this  once  pop- 
ular seminary.  Miss  Caroline  Neville  and  Miss 
Wolatt  succeeded  the  Garvin  family  as  managers 
of  the  school. 

A.  B.  Way  started  a  college  at  Alliance.  Per- 
haps the  love  of  Christ  and  a  higher  education 
prompted  to  this  enterprise.  Some  think  its  pro- 
moters desired  to  speculate  in  city  lots.  After  a 
short  career  the  college  failed.  It  could  not  com- 
pete with  Hiram  and  Bethany. 

Some  zealous  sectarian  ministers  who  were 
uneducated  have  been  heard  to  say  that  all  they 
had  to  do  was  to  open  their  mouths  and  the  Lord 
would  fill  them.  "Yes,"  some  one  replied,  "the 
Lord  will  fill  them  with  wind."  Some  of  our 
pioneer  preachers  were  not  scholastically  edu- 
cated, but  they  had  a  native  ability,  and  read  and 
understood  the  Scriptures  and  became  able  ad- 
vocates of  the  gospel.  Some  of  these  men  read 
history,  and  even  studied  foreign  languages,  to 
be  better  able  to  understand  and  preach  the 
gospel. 

Paesoitages 

A  goodly  number  of  churches  in  Ohio  have 
parsonages.  They  are  a  source  of  strength  to  a 
church.  A  parsonage  is  not  so  necessary  as  a 
meeting-house,  but  it  gives  a  congregation  the  ap- 
pearance of  stability  to  its  members  and  to  those 
who  are  not  in  the  church.  It  furnishes  a  home 
for  the  minister  and  his  family,  by  reason  of 

345 


I 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


J.  F.  Davis  Sidney  Smith  Clark  Asa  Schuler 

BENErACTOES  OP  THE  OHIO  WOEK 

346 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


which  he  should  be  a  better  preacher.  The  con- 
tentment of  a  congregation  and  minister,  that 
comes  from  a  parsonage,  makes  each  a  greater 
power  for  good  in  a  community. 

Many  churches  would  do  well  to  go  about  get- 
ting a  parsonage.  The  effort  would  give  them 
something  to  do  and  keep  them  from  stagnation. 
Churches  are  weakened  by  doing  so  little  for  the 
cause  of  Christ.  The  building  of  a  chapel,  a 
meeting-house,  a  parsonage,  and  paying  liberally 
to  support  a  minister,  and  for  missions,  will 
make  a  church  strong  and  insure  its  success.  A 
parsonage  usually  means  a  working  church  and 
a  cheerful,  strong  minister.  History  gives  this 
testimony. 

Forty-six  of  our  churches  in  Ohio  have  par- 
sonages. 

Nai^ct  Feost 

Nancy  Frost  lived  to  be  108  years  old.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  first  Sunday  school  in  the 
northwest  Territory,  at  Marietta,  O.  She  tended 
the  children  while  her  mother  made  bullets  for 
the  men  to  fight  off  the  Indians,  using  the  block- 
houses for  forts.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
church  at  Lowell,  on  the  Muskingum  River,  for 
sixty  years.  She  retained  her  faculties  to  the 
last.  She  read  the  Bible  through  forty  times. 
She  used  to  say  the  Lord  had  forgotten  to  come 
for  her.  He  did  come  for  her,  however,  at  the 
good,  ripe  age  of  108  years.  Perhaps  she  lived 
in  this  world  longer  than  any  other  disciple  of 
Christ  in  Ohio. 

Labge  GrvEEs 

Many  disciples  give  time,  talent  and  such 
money  gifts  as  they  are  able,  to  carry  on  the 

347 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Lord's  work.  All  can  not  be  large  financial 
givers.  A  few  may  be  mentioned  as  large  givers 
of  money:  D.  S.  Burnet,  Asa  Shuler,  J,  K. 
McDonald,  Robert  Kerr,  Peter  Butts,  H.  R.  New- 
comb,  James  Robison,  Wm.  Tousley,  A.  Teach- 
out,  Wm.  Bowler,  Albert  Allen,  Lathrop  Cooley, 
A.  R.  Teachout,  Thomas  Davis,  Sidney  S.  Clark, 
J.  F.  Davis,  T.  N.  Easton,  W.  H.  Cowdery,  W. 
S.  Streator,  J.  N.  O.  Lynn,  Simeon  Hart,  Mrs. 
Sarah  B.  McLean  (wife  of  Justice  McLean),  T. 
W.  Phillips,  The  Standard  Publishing  Company. 

Orphanage 

The  Cleveland  Orphanage  is  under  the  gen- 
eral management  of  the  National  Benevolent 
Association,  with  headquarters  at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
The  local  management  is  very  efficient.  It  is 
filled  to  capacity  (about  seventy-four)  all  the 
time.  The  boys  and  girls  are  wisely  directed  and 
started  in  a  happy  way  to  useful  manhood  and 
womanhood.  The  institution  is  chartered,  and 
can  legally  bind  children  to  persons  desiring  to 
adopt  them.  This  is  a  Christian  work  of  far- 
reaching  influence. 

Ministers'  Associations 

Ministers'  meetings  or  associations  are  main- 
tained in  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  north- 
western Ohio  and  Youngstown.  For  twenty  years 
or  more  the  Eastern  Ohio  Ministerial  Associa- 
tion was  maintained.  At  one  time  125  ministers 
had  membership  in  it.  F.  M.  G-reen  was  the 
active  and  efficient  secretary  of  this  association. 
Some  of  the  strongest  ministers  of  the  brother- 
hood had  fellowship  in  the  Eastern  Ohio  Asso- 
ciation. 

348 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


349 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE 


Endowed  Chtjeches 

If  persons  want  to  be  remembered  after  leav- 
ing this  world,  like  Mary  of  old,  they  must  do 
something  for  Christ.  A  good  way  to  be  remem- 
bered is  to  leave  money  enough  to  the  church 
to  make  an  annual  subscription  for  expenses.  A 
few  churches  have  small  endowments  of  this 
character:  Chesterland,  Hopedale,  Millwood, 
Kent,  Randolph,  North  Royalton,  Wauseon,  BeU- 
ville,  Willoughby,  and  perhaps  others.  The  time 
is  coming  when  it  will  be  wise  for  "down-town 
churches"  to  seek  good-sized  endowments,  that 
the  gospel  may  be  preached  in  centers  of  popu- 
lation. 

Tom  L.  Johnson 

Tom  L.  Johnson,  the  one-time  popular  mayor 
of  Cleveland,  came  to  Cleveland  from  Louisville, 
Ky.  He  secured  an  interest  in  a  street  railway 
line,  then  added  others  to  it,  and,  after  a  long 
and  hard  fight,  got  all  the  lines  in  the  city  con- 
solidated and  the  fare  for  a  ride  reduced  to  three 
cents.  The  system  is  not  second  to  that  of  any 
city  in  the  country.  He  had  an  interest  in  the 
great  Johnstown  (Pa.)  steel  mills,  and  was  the 
principal  promoter  of  the  ''Lorain  Steel  Mills" 
in  Ohio.  He,  joined  with  others,  projected  the 
grouping  of  the  city  and  county  buildings  which 
are  the  admiration  of  the  world.  He  helped  in 
projecting  the  Warrensville  farm  and  city  where 
prisoners,  poor  and  consumptives  are  cared  for. 
He  was  a  single-tax  advocate.  He  was  a  great 
friend  of  the  poor.  Li  his  church  relations  he 
was  a  member  at  Cedar  Avenue  Church  and  gave 
liberally  for  the  cause.  His  friends  and  ad- 
mirers have  erected  a  beautiful  bronze  statue  to 

350 


DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  IN  OHIO 


his  memory  in  the  Public  Square  in  Cleveland. 
On  the  sides  of  the  rostrums  are  plaques  in- 
scribed : 

1.  "Beyond  Ms  party  and  beyond  Ms  class 

TMs  man  forsook  the  few  to  serve  the  mass." 

2.  "He  found  us  groping,  leaderless  and  blind; 

He  left  the  city  with  a  civic  mind." 

3.  "He  found  us  striving,  each  Ms  selfish  part ; 

He  left  a  city  with  a  civic  heart." 

4.  "And  ever  with  Ms  eye  set  on  the  goal, 

The  vision  of  a  city  with  a  soul." 

As  to  churches  in  Ohio,  the  Year  Book  for 
1917  reports  528.  This  is  perhaps  an  under- 
estimate of  thirty  or  forty  which  did  not  report. 
There  are  reported  102,806  members.  In  the 
Bible  schools,  105,488.    Preachers,  425. 

The  largest  offerings  for  all  missions.  Cleve- 
land (Euclid  Avenue),  $6,654.79;  Akron  (First), 
$6,481.85;  Cleveland  (FrankUn  Circle),  $5,689.61; 
Youngstown  (Central),  $2,661.00,  and  Cincinnati 
(Walnut  Hills),  $2,516.76. 

Of  the  churches  in  Ohio,  70  per  cent,  are 
rural,  and  there  are  reported  517  Bible  schools. 

Special  Mission  Funds 

Sidney  Smith  Clark  was  born  near  Lexington, 
Ky.,  in  1805.  He  moved  to  Cincinnati  when  a 
young  man.  He  and  his  wife  were  members  of 
the  first  congregation  organized  in  Cincinnati  by 
D.  S.  Burnet.  Later  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Richmond  Street  Church.  He  was  a  personal 
friend  of  D.  S.  Burnet,  James  Challen,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  George  Rice  and  many  other  pioneers. 
He  died  in  1871.  A  fund  of  about  $50,000  came 
from  his  estate  for  special  missions.  The  will 
declares  that  the  elders  of  the  Richmond  Street 

351 


HISTORY  OF  OHIO  DISCIPLES 


Church  of  Cincinnati  shall  select  the  mission- 
aries. H.  T.  Atkins  is  trustee  of  the  fund.  The 
interest  is  used  to  promote  the  cause  in  the 
places  selected.  Report  is  made  annually  to  the 
probate  court.  The  places  aided  are  in  Virginia, 
Arkansas  and  Oklahoma.  The  better  way  is  to 
place  such  funds  in  the  care  of  the  Ohio  Christian 
Missionary  Society.  That  society  is  responsible, 
and  the  directors  can  place  the  aid  at  the  best 
places  for  doing  the  greatest  good. 

The  Welsh  Mission  of  Mahoning  and  Trum- 
bull Counties  was  organized  by  Isaac  Errett. 
The  society  is  chartered  by  the  State  of  Ohio. 
Thomas  Davis,  a  Welshman  of  Youngstown,  left 
$25,000,  the  interest  of  which  is  used  to  promote 
the  cause  of  original  Christianity  in  those  two 
counties.  B.  F.  Wirts,  of  Youngstown,  is  the 
secretary  of  the  society.  The  work  is  directed  by 
a  board  of  managers.  The  trustees  care  for  the 
funds.  Aid  has  been  extended  to  new  and  weak 
churches  in  said  counties.  Thomas  Davis,  the 
giver  of  this  fund,  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  He 
was  a  thorough  believer  in  the  New  Testament 
church,  and  made  provision  to  extend  it  after  his 
departure  from  this  earthly  life.  '  The  Ohio 
Christian  Missionary  Society  is  co-operating  with 
the  Welsh  Mission  in  carrying  on  work  at  Hill- 
man  Street,  Youngstown. 


352 


Date  Due 


r 

^■HIHIj^lil 

9> 

